The Dogfather
by scared-of-mimes
Summary: Alternate Universe, Harry is abandoned by the Dursleys when he was a baby and is adopted by a muggle family. He has a relitavely normal and happy life until his family adopts a certain black dog. Rated for safety.
1. In which we meet the family

The Dogfather

Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: None of it is mine except for a few characters you may not recognize, and the plot. The rest goes to J.K. Rowling. Suing and plagiarism is evil. **

Sirius rested his hairy head against the cement wall of his cell. No, he wasn't at Azkaban. It was a muggle dog shelter. 'This is Pathetic' he thought to himself 'I escaped Azkaban! Now I can't even break out of a stupid pound... But in Azkaban I could use thumbs' he reminded himself. Padfoot looked over at the empty food dish on the far side of his cage. A plan began to develop in his mind. An employee came twice a day to refill the food and water. They were all muggles so it would be simple to run past them. Content with this easy plan, Sirius dozed off into a nap. He awoke to the sound of jangling keys and voices. He looked at his dish to see it was full again. 'Damn it!' he thought. Suddenly he became aware that the people had stopped in front of his cage. He looked up to see a family of four: Two parents, one daughter, and a son. 'Wait a second' he thought as he snapped his vision back to the son. 'Oh my god this kid is a replica of James! Could it be... no, he's supposed to be at the Dursley's'. His speculations were cut off as the volunteer teenage girl opened the cage door and began to pull Sirius out by the collar. 'Oh that's nice' he thought 'How would you feel if I pulled you by the neck everywhere.' The girl attached a leash to Padfoot's collar and led him to the group of people before them. Sirius felt himself go tense. He looked up at the boy who looked like James. Even his eyes were Lily's eyes. He seemed around the same height as his father was at that age, as well. 'This is creepy' he thought.

"So what do you think Harry?" asked the man who seemed to be his father. Harry looked down at Sirius. 'Oh my gosh he has the same scent!' a lock of hair fell away from his forehead revealing a lightning bolt scar. 'The scar! What the hell is he doing here! This is HARRY! MY GODSON!'

"I don't know Dad, he doesn't seem very friendly, and he keeps on staring at me strangely." he said.

'Ha! Me? Not friendly? That'll be the day.' Thought Sirius as he dropped to the ground and began to roll around. Then he got up on his hind legs, put his paws on Harry's shoulders and licked him across the cheek, He topped it off with a light bark and sat down again and wagged his tail eagerly.

"Whoa" said the girl who seemed to be Harry's older sister "That's creepy... it's as if he knows what we're saying."

'No really, it was just pure luck' thought Sirius sarcastically.

"Well I like him, and after all this is supposed to be my birthday present!" said Harry happily as he patted Sirius on the head.

'Birthday Present? Now old would he be now... around ten, or nine?' thought Sirius.

"Alright then" said the father looking at Sirius "Welcome to the family."

Sirius huddled in the back seat of an SUV dead scared. This was saying something. Sirius had never ridden in a car before, well he did once with Lily but that's another story. He was relieved when the car finally stopped in front of a house on an ordinary suburban street. As soon as Harry opened the door Sirius leaped out.

"I don't think he likes cars." said Harry thoughtfully.

'Wow, observant aren't you?' thought Sirius.

"Anyways, what are we going to name him?" said the sister hopping out of the car. Sirius cringed. 'What will it be? Fluffy, Bingo, Snuffles?'

"Good question Kate." said the father as they headed for the house. 'So that's her name' thought Sirius. The inside was a perfectly normal. These people were obviously muggles. Sirius noticed an odd looking box in the living room. He remembered Lily having one 'What was it called again? Tepevillan, Tanalvision?' Harry laughed.

"Hey, he's interested in the television." he said amused. 'Ah, television... I knew that' he thought.

The rest of the afternoon went by uneventfully. Finally night came, after a dinner which Sirius refused to eat; he followed Harry to his room. It was an ordinary room like the rest of the house. Harry pointed towards his bed.

"This is where I sleep." he said. Then, pointing to a basket beside the bed he said, "That's where you sleep."

'Like that's going to happen' thought Sirius as he jumped onto the bed and curled up at the foot. Harry sighed.

"Fine if that's how your going to be." he said as he Swung his legs over on to the bed. Sirius stretched triumphantly and fell asleep.

The next morning Sirius was woken up by the summer sunlight pouring through the window. He realized that Harry was still snoozing at the head. He crawled out of the bed and towards the window and looked out side. It had been a long time since he had been woken by the sun. Even though he had been on the run for about three weeks he was still not used to it. His gaze drifted back to the bed where Harry slept peacefully. 'I need to talk to him alone' he thought.

Sirius raced down the stairs barking as loud as he could, disturbing the family's peaceful luncheon. He ran to the window and sat still with his tail waging rapidly. Then he let out a long howl and continued to run up and down the stairs.

"TAKE THAT DOG FOR A WALK!" bellowed the father covering his ears.

"Alright, alright." said Harry slipping from his chair. Sirius grinned, if possible in his dog form, 'Perfect' he thought.

Ten minutes later Harry and Sirius were outside on the sunny suburban sidewalks. Sirius could have certainly done without the collar and leash but he supposed he would have to deal with it. He began slowly tugging on the leash towards the nearby forest. Finally he broke into a run into the thick trees, pulling the leash from the boy's hand.

"Hey!" shouted Harry angrily. But Sirius was long gone. Sirius darted around the trees, going deeper into the woods. Harry tried to keep track of the run away dog but he was much to fast for him. Suddenly Sirius made a sharp turn into a small clearing. Harry followed him only to find a man sitting in his place.

A/N Sorry new story, but I've been holding on to this idea for a LONG time so I wanted to type it before I lost it. I would REALLY appreciate it if I get some reviews :hint, hint: A/N


	2. In which we meet the dog

The Dogfather

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING waaaaahh I wish I did but it all goes to J.K. Rowling.

Harry stared in shock at the man sitting before him. He looked emaciated and his filthy matted hair went far past his shoulders. His eyes were sunken and had dark shadows around them. Harry began to shake a bit. His first instinct was to scream and run but he knew the man would chase him.

"Y-you're that m-murderer... in the newspaper." he stuttered.

" I have a name, ye know" said Sirius lightly. "But I'm not the important thing here, the important one is you." Harry was startled at this.

'What would a mass murderer want one specific little boy? Why won't he just be content with killing any old innocent bystander?' he thought to himself.

"What did you do with my dog?" asked Harry suddenly remembering that it went this way. Black let out a bark-like laugh.

"I am your dog." he said with a grin, after a soft pop the man had transformed into Harry's loveable pet. Harry wanted to scream but his voice had died in his throat. The dog turned back into a man.

"Are you okay?" asked Black, concerned.

"H-how d-did you do th-that?" he said alarmed. Black grinned again.

"It's all magic." he replied.

"But magic doesn't exist." whispered Harry almost mechanically. Black sighed and began to focus his concentration on a small rock lying a few meters from where he was sitting. The pebble slowly began to rise into the air, then it hovered for a few seconds and zoomed towards Black who caught it easily.

"Now do you not believe in magic?" he asked tossing the rock up and down and catching it in his palm. Harry did not say anything but Sirius was sure of his answer.

'This has got to be a dream' thought Harry.

"There is a whole wizarding world you don't know about Harry." continued Black. Harry gulped.

"How do you know my name?" asked Harry firmly, keeping his ground. Black laughed his bark-like laugh again.

"Harry, I am your godfather." he said, his eyes softening. Harry's stomach felt as if it was going through a few gymnastic routines.

'Star wars does not exist' thought Harry. "How are you my godfather? My parents would've told me and why would they have chosen a murderer?" he said desperately. Sadness entered the man's hollow eyes.

"I'm not talking about the parents you have now, I mean your real parents- Lily and James Potter." he said slowly. Harry's stomach continued it's routine. No one had ever mentioned his real parents, because frankly no one knew anything about them. Sure he knew he was adopted but the orphanage just knew that his first name was Harry.

He suddenly looked at the man before him in a new light. If this man was truly his godfather then he could probably answer a lot of questions he had. Like, why did he have that scar on his forehead, or why did he once in a while get dreams with a bunch of green light, and if his parents were wizards maybe that's why he would occasionally make strange things happen. He decided to leave these questions for later, he still did not completely trust this man- this murderer.

"Tell me more about my parents." said Harry slowly. Sirius sighed.

"Your father, James Potter, was my best friend. We were friends ever since our first day at Hogwarts- the wizard school. When we we're in fifth year we became animagi to help one of our close friend, Remus Lupin. When you become an animagi you have the ability to change into an animal at will."

"So that's how you were the dog!" said Harry suddenly cutting him off.

Sirius nodded and continued. "As you know I was a dog, your father was a stag and one of our other close friends Peter Pettigrew," Harry noticed hatred flash through his eyes as he said that. "Turned into a rat." he continued, "After Hogwarts we remained good friends, James married your mother Lily Evans and shortly after had you. Unfortunately around the same time there was an evil wizard becoming strong and gaining more and more power."

'This seems like one of those Lord of the Rings books I read last year.' thought Harry.

"A spy for the Order of the Phoenix which is a secret organization against Voldemort tipped us off that your parents were at the top of Voldemort's hit list. So you and they went into hiding and they chose a secret keeper, that person would be the only one to know their location unless they told someone themselves. They chose me but I convinced them to switch to Peter." Harry noticed that the sadness was slowly creeping into the man's eyes again. "I thought no one would suspect him, he was always so weak the Dark Lord would have never considered using him as a spy, but I was wrong. So on Halloween night Voldemort went to your old house in Godric's Hollow. He murdered your mother and father but he couldn't kill you for some reason. Voldemort disappeared that night and no one knows where he is." finished Sirius.

Harry was shocked. His young mind couldn't possibly hold all of this new information. He didn't even notice when Sirius came over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. When he finally acknowledged his presence he didn't feel afraid anymore of the strange man. Suddenly he realized that there were small tears on Sirius' dirty cheeks. Then a new thought entered Harry's head. 'Why did he go to prison? Where's Pettigrew?'

"Er... um Mr. Black... why did you go to prison if you didn't do anything?" said Harry uneasily. Sirius sighed again. Harry could tell that he was going to begin a long story again.

"Well after I saw your parents' bodies, I lost it. I was going to revenge if it was the last thing I did. So I hunted down Peter and cornered him in the middle of a muggle street- muggles are non-magic folk like your parent and sister." he added seeing the perplexed expression on his godson's face. "Although my plan backfired horribly." he said grimly. "Peter shouted that I had betrayed Lily and James then he blew up everyone in a twenty foot range with a wand behind his back. And remember how I said we had became animagi?" Harry nodded slowly with his eyes wide open, he had a feeling how this was going to end up. "Well he cut off his finger, transformed into a rat, and ran down into the sewers leaving me at the scene of the crime holding a wand. So, less then an hour later I was sitting in a cell in Azkaban the wizard prison for murder of twelve muggles and Peter Pettigrew and service to Voldemort." he finished gloomily.

Harry felt a small tear come to his eye. 'How could someone do that to one of their friends? One of their best friends at that.' he thought sadly.

"Oh yeah, Harry?" said Sirius suddenly.

"Yes?" replied Harry.

"Never call me Mr. Black again or I'll hex your pants off!." he said.

Harry laughed weakly wondering if he really would.

A/N Wow, I've already got forty freaking reviews and it's only been two days! These means so much to me! Thank you reviewers! And I will make it clear that I will continue to update my other stories, especially Arisen II, so never fear Smorefan and Marguerida! And also I'm glad you all think that you all think that the idea was original because that was one of the reasons I wrote this story because I was happy I thought of it all on my own. MWAHAHA! Also I can't get over this : puts on Darth Vader mask: 'Harry, I am your godfather.' A/N


	3. In which he recieves a letter

The Dogfather

Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: This is really getting old... IT'S ALL MINE YAHOO! It all belongs to me: sees cop car pulling into driveway: I mean... of course it belongs to J.K. Rowling :ahem:**

The days began to pass quickly for Harry and summer quickly turned into autumn. He continued his daily talk with Sirius in the woods. They would pretend to be taking a walk with Sirius as Padfoot ,which Harry had conveniently suggested to the family as the dog's name, then continue the walk with Sirius in human form in the woods. The two had concluded not to tell Harry's parents about Sirius. The parents would probably then turn Sirius into the police quicker than he could say 'Azkaban'. Harry had grown used to his godfather and his story. Although he still wondered about his escape. When he asked him about it, Sirius shrugged and said, "It was the weirdest thing ever, one night I had this dream except it was a nightmare like usual... it was kind of eerie actually... James, Lily and you were in it, as a baby... and James was saying I had to get out to protect you and that you'd be needing me in the future... that gave me a sort of strength and next day I had slipped past the dementors in my animagus form" Harry was thoughtful about this.

Besides that Sirius talked to Harry about the Marauders, Magic he had learned, or just about everything from the birds in the trees to Harry's new shoes.

Roughly a year later...

Harry shuffled eagerly through the morning post, he had been searching all week for it. His eleventh birthday was coming quickly and Sirius said it should be arriving any day now. After anxiously flipping through a few bills he found what he had been waiting for. His heart pounded as he picked up a thick yellow envelope. On it in emerald ink read his name and address. Harry grinned to himself and pocketed the letter 'Time to take Padfoot for a walk' he thought.

He opened the door to his room to find his godfather snoozing on his bed in dog form. He rolled his eyes and walked over to the bed. First he started out with a soft prod, the dog continued to sleep. Harry raised one eyebrow and tried harder into the belly. Padfoot stirred yet continued to his slumber. Harry sighed and grinned mischieviously. He turned towards the bathroom and came out holding a glass of water.

"First time I'm nice, Second time I'm too nice, and Third time I'm reasonable" he muttered to himself as he approached the sleeping form. He stood over his pet poured the contents of the glass onto him with no remorse as he simply hummed to himself.

Sirius yelped frantically and jumped out of bed and growled angrily up at Harry.

"Hey don't blame me!" he said "You no the rules, two times and I go to extreme measures" Sirius rolled hi eyes, if possible, as Harry cleaned up the mess with a simple wandless drying charm Sirius taught him.

"Besides" he continued, satisfied with his work, "I've got something to show you, c'mon" Sirius trotted behind Harry, down the stairs and out the back door towards the woods wondering what he wanted to show him. After they walked roughly half a kilometer into the forest they came upon a stream where Harry decided to stop. He looked around to see anyone about, finding no one, he nodded for Sirius to transform. Sirius looked pissed. Harry sighed waiting for the ranting to begin.

"What is so bloody important, that you had to so rudely wake me up at the crack of dawn with, oh what was it again, WATER! And haul me out here!" he exclaimed flailing his arms. Harry covered a laugh. The muggle clothes Harry had given him were plastered to his body and as he moved his arms water flew everywhere. Suddenly Harry checked his digital watch and realized that it was only 6:30. He shrugged. He needed to get to the letter before his parents did.

"Er... sorry 'bout the water Sirius... and the earliness... but I needed to talk to you." Harry pulled the envelope out of his jeans pocket "I got my letter"

Suddenly all anger left Sirius "Really? Harry that's great! Have you told your parents yet? Have they read it? Have you read it? When did it come?" He inquired eagerly.

"Hold it Padfoot, no I have not told my parents and I haven't read it and it came this morning in the post." he explained.

"Alright then, let's read it!" suggested Sirius.

"Harry turned the envelope over expecting to see a normal glue sealed flap, yet there was a strange seal with a Lion, an Eagle, a Badger, and a Snake. "Are those the animals of the houses?" he asked his godfather, Sirius nodded. Harry removed the wax seal and pulled out the contents of the letter which he noticed was some sort of old fashion parchment rather than normal paper.

It read:

_Dear Mr. Potter, _

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Term begins September 1st. The train leaves at Kings Cross station 11o' clock. Inside is an enclosed list of school supplies, we await your owl no later than July 31st. _

_Sincerely, _

_Minerva McGonagall_

_(Deputy Headmistress) _

Harry skimmed over the letter quickly. Suddenly he realized a problem.

"Er, Sirius?" he said timidly.

"Yeah?"

"I haven't got an owl." he replied.

"So?"

"What's with these one word answers? Anyway it says here that they await my owl. If I don't answer then that Hagrid guy will have to come and get me!" he said desperately. If Hagrid came he would most likely recognize Sirius.

"Don't worry about it when you and your family go to Diagon Alley you'll get your owl. Besides Hagrid only comes if you don't receive the letter at all." explained Sirius. Harry nodded.

Xxxx

Harry fidgeted nervously at the breakfast table. He had resealed the letter and put it back into the morning mail. He concentrated hard on eating his cornflakes while his father searched through the mail.

"Bill, bill, catalog, Ooo free coupon, bill... what's this?" Harry held his breath and Sirius stopped eating his bacon in the corner.

"Hey, Hannah it's something from your cousin in Kent." he said handing his wife a small white envelope. Harry exhaled his breath and continued his cereal a bit irritated. After a few seconds later of searching he stopped again. "Hey Harry you've got something too" he said looking perplexed at the thick yellow envelope.

"Really me? I wonder who it's from." said Harry trying to sound as if he hadn't known it was coming. He opened the seal again and pretended to read the letter. After a few seconds his dad asked.

"Well who's it from"

"Er.. I'm not really sure... maybe you should read it." he said handing the letter to him. Sirius stopped eating again and watched in amusement. Harry's father read the letter over and looked up.

"This is the most bizarre thing ever." he said.

"Well, maybe so but it would explain a lot, like why I make that weird stuff happen... like when Kate's shoes suddenly turned purple, or when your car became covered with bubbles, and when Mum's necklace found it's way onto the roof." said Harry ticking events off of his fingers.

"What does that have to do with this letter?" asked Kate. The father passed the letter to her, she read it with the same dumfounded expression then she passed it to her mother who followed suit. "Whoa, that's strange" said the mother.

"Yeah I know" muttered Kate.

"I think it's real" said Harry. The rest of the family stared at him.

"Why?" they said in union. Harry swallowed.

"Because lately I've been able to do really weird stuff." he said lamely.

"Like what?" said his sister.

"Like this." Harry concentrated really hard on his spoon, it began to rise slowly, it then lowered it into his cereal bowl and scooped out a few cornflakes. The spoon made it's way towards Harry's mouth, he opened his mouth and ate the flakes, then lowered the piece of silverware next to the bowl. He looked up at the family. There expressions were blank. He grinned to himself; he had gotten the idea from watching the movie 'Matilda'. He saw in the corner of his eye that Sirius was not acting very dog like. He was crouching down and barking in a strange way that sounded like laughter. It was Kate who was the first to speak.

"H-how in the world didjoo do that?" she asked dumbstruck.

"I dunno" he said with a shrug. "I just concentrate really hard on it levitating and it does it" as the family let this new information sink in, he winked to Sirius.

"Alright then" said his father. "I guess you'll be going to Hogwarts."

Harry simply grinned.

Xxxxx

A/N Hey not to bad of a chapter, hmm? hmm? Anyways, I hope that answers your question magicgirl45852, sorry I didn't e-mail you. Anyways, don't forget to review!... or else... :ahem: Next chapter Diagon Alley and maybe the Hogwarts express A/N


	4. In which we meet the warewolf

The Dogfather

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Me: Anyway as you can see the likely hood of Astros making it to the Play-offs this year without Carlos Beltron and with all of those oldies they signed, is virtually impossible.

Sister: But they've got the Rocket!

Me: hold it... aren't I supposed to do the disclaimer here? ... are people reading this...

Sister: Of course they aren't anyway I'm happy as long as the mets have got Carlos Beltran ...MEET THE METS MEET THE METS STEP RIGHT UP AND GREET THE METS!

Me: Whatever, anyway J.K. Rowling owns everything

Xxxxxxxxx

Harry and Sirius were back in the woods. A/N now that I think about it they sound like moon shiners A/N Harry was taking Sirius for his 'walk' before he and his family went to Diagon Alley. Sirius was filling him in on everything, his supplies, where to go, what to expect etcetera. "And most importantly of all" began Sirius "If you meet anyone I've told you about act like you've never heard about them." he said. Harry nodded slowly as he reread his supplies list. He paused for a second.

"Will I need a wand for all of my classes?" he asked frowning slightly. Sirius had taught quite a few simple spells without wands. Like, Accio, and Wingardeom Leviosa. Sirius had said he was pleasantly surprised when he found that Harry could do them without trouble. His Godfather added that most wizards could not master this talent until their seventh year at School.

"Yeah, except for potions , herbology, and astronomy, but don't worry about it, wand magic is ten times easier than without and involves less concentration." he said. Harry sighed. He supposed it would be better considering the amount of headaches he received after using his magic, but he didn't like the idea that all of his power depended on a thin piece of wood. Harry checked his watch.

"It's almost noon, we should be getting back." he announced. Sirius transformed back into a dog and the two jogged back to the house.

Xxxxxxxxx

Remus Lupin sighed as he ascended the spiral staircase leading to Dumbledore's office. He knew exactly what the headmaster was going to request of him. Harry Potter would be going to be visiting Diagon Alley any day now. Albus probably wanted someone to way lay the poor boy in order to sort some things out before he came to school. 'Why the hell didn't he just choose Hagrid? He knows I'm not good at this stuff' thought Remus as he knocked rapidly on the oak door. Although, he was secretly thrilled to be able to see James' son again.

"Enter, Remus" called a familiar voice. Remus sighed and crossed the threshold of the circular office. The headmaster was behind his desk, the ever-present twinkle still in his eye.

"I have a special job for you, Har-" began Dumbledore before Remus cut him off by holding up a hand.

"I know, you want me to patrol Diagon Alley looking for Harry, then track him down and tell him about his past." said Remus dully. Dumbledore raised his eyebrows and laughed- the last thing Remus felt like doing.

"Exactly" he said amused. Remus secretly rolled his eyes, the headmaster's ability to stay calm and optimistic even in the darkest of situations always got on his nerves. It also annoyed the hell out of Remus that even though they had known exactly where Harry was, yet they could not reach him. Dumbledore had explained to him that there had been an anti-tracking put on the boy so that if a witch or wizard knew where he or she would not be able to find him until he received his letter. So basically even though he could pin point his location, even if he walked every inch of the earth fifty times over he would not find him. Remus sighed as he got up from his chair. 'This will be interesting' he thought.

Xxxxxxxxx

Harry and his family nervously shuffled into the Leaky Cauldron. Well, more like Harry pretending to shuffle nervously and his family really shuffling nervously. Harry was really excited, everything Sirius told him about was coming to life. It gave him an odd feeling in his stomach which he chose to ignore. Some of the occupants gave them strange glances because of their muggle clothing which Harry pretended to be oblivious to. He made his way fairly quickly through the pub towards the back door, when he realized that it would be suspicious if he already knew the exit. After asking the barkeep, who he now knew was named Tom; Harry led his family eagerly out the backdoor. He kept in mind to keep his bangs flat over his scar during the conversation in order to not create a commotion. Luckily there was another yet complicated pattern, for muggleborns who had no wand. After getting it right on the third try, an archway appeared. Harry's family stood in awe while Harry smiled.

Diagon was exactly how Sirius had described it. There was the owl emporium, dragon dung on sale for ten sickles, a new broom stick on display in Quality Quiditch which caught Harry's eye, Alley was not a good way to describe this place, it was more like a whole different world- at least to him it was.

They first visited Gringotts Bank where they exchanged muggle notes for knuts, sickles, and galleons. Harry watched longingly as other families made their way towards tunnels leading to vaults, one of which were his holding piles and piles of gold. Pretending not to know anything sucked, he concluded.

Xxxxxxxxx

'God damn it, how did I get forced into this?' thought Remus as he weaved through the thick crowd. 'This sure is going to be fun, 'Hey Harry! You may not but remember me but I was one of your dad's best friends, who was murdered by Voldemort by the way!' he imagined sourly. He decided that he must be on his way to his first shop by now. He decided that Flourish and Blotts would be a wise choice to begin with and headed in that direction.

Xxxxxxxxx

Finding the first shop was a disaster. Harry's parents had to rescue him a few times from being swept away by a sudden wave of people. A/N hee, hee, hee, poor Harry A/N There were no signs in Diagon Alley, save the one leading to Knockturn Alley which Harry stayed well away from, remembering a warning his godfather had given him. Finally the group found the store, which they would never done if Sirius hadn't given Harry a rough description of the area. Fortunately the book store was one of the less densely populated parts of the alley. The holiday shoppers that roamed the street would shop for school needs later in the summer. Harry and co. rejoiced the refuge of the spacious store, which earned a few raised eyebrows from several customers and the shopkeeper. Harry ignored this and retrieved his supplies list from his back pocket and disappeared into the shelves while the rest of his family stared interested at some large books covered with a thick scaly material.

nXn

Remus Lupin paced the aisles of the store. He was afraid that someone would notice him before he reached him. That would be true chaos, Harry would have absolutely no idea why a person wanted his autograph or why he or she would be gawking at his scar. At the thought of this he quickened his pace

nXn

Harry triumphantly balanced his books in a small tower in his arms, 'That's one shop down four to go' he thought, as he turned a corner and began to look for his family. Suddenly his was hit full speed by a boy at least two years older than himself who was galloping down the aisle. His books fell everywhere in a ten foot radius of himself. "Oh, I'm sorry kid, are you okay? Let me help you up." he said apologetically as he offered the fallen boy. Harry immediately straightened up and began to flatten his fringe frantically but the damage had been done. The boy's jaw went slack as he stared at Harry in awe. Harry, seeing that the stranger was about to make a scene, muttered an Accio spell which returned all of the books to his arms. He broke into a run as the boy gasped the words "Harry Potter!" loud enough for anyone in neighboring aisles to hear, only to be held back by a strong arm on his shoulder which was followed by a loud crack.

A/N I wanted to leave it here at a cliffy but my conscience got the better of me A/N

Harry found himself seconds later in a back alley of a shop, he whipped around to see a man probably in his thirties with sandy, brown, graying hair. He was looking at Harry with an aura of sadness, Harry didn't like this look one bit. After placing his un-paid for books down on the pavement, he looked at this man with his arms crossed and said, "Who are you and what do you want." To Harry's surprise the man smiled slightly. 'Just like his father' thought Remus.

"Harry, my name is Remus Lupin and I was one of your father's best friends" he began, he paused letting this sink in.

"Huh?" exclaimed Harry irrationally looking the man up and down. "You mean you're, you're Moon- I mean you knew my dad?" stuttered Harry. Remus raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Yes" he said slowly. "We were at school together"

'That was a close one' thought Harry. Harry pretended to keep his expression suspicious and a bit confused in order to act as if he hadn't heard this information before. He couldn't believe this, Sirius had often talked about Moony, Remus, and Harry had wondered what would happen if he were to meet him- well he was going to find out.

Remus continued his story about Harry's parents and their deaths. He watched the boy closely through out this. His expression seemed strange, almost fake, 'But why would he be faking it?' he thought. His face changed whenever a particularly dramatic point was made but that also seemed strange. When Remus finally finished, Harry seemed frozen to the spot. 'Hmm now this is something I expected' he noticed thoughtfully.

'How long do I have to hold this? I feel like a freakin' statue' thought Harry angrily hoping that his face wouldn't show it. The whole time had been painful, keeping a straight face and all. He concluded that he had been wrong in thinking that pretending to know nothing sucked, when really it was torture. After about a minute of Harry being the human ice cube Remus began shifting uncomfortably. 'Guess that's my cue.' thought Harry and began to speak.

"So I'm famous? Everyone knows my name because I survived this Voldemort guy? I- I had no idea."

Remus nodded solemnly, his expression was still strange but he let it pass as an aftershock.. After five minutes of Remus letting this sink in, and Harry pretending to thin,. a shriek coming from the pile of Harry's purchases, pierced through the silence. "Er... Rem-Mr. Lupin, could you please take me back to Flourish Blotts... I need to pay for my books." said Harry nervously staring at the wailing textbooks.

* * *

A/N Wow, almost two thousand words. Anyways, I hope that you all are satisfied with this chapter, and for those who may not have gotten it, the books are wailing because Harry technically stole them. Arisen is next for updating, toodles all, and don't forget to review! Oh yeah and while you all wait for this to get updated, if you haven't, read Arisen! A/N 


	5. Hogwarts Ho!

The Dogfather

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own anything

xXx

Harry scrambled through the woods where he knew Sirius was waiting. He was intent on telling him about his encounter in Diagon Alley A.S.A.P. He rounded another group of trees and found himself in a small clearing where Padfoot the dog was waiting impatiently. The dog immediately transformed into a man and stared at Harry expectantly. "Well? How was it?" Harry stopped for a moment to catch his breath.

"I saw Moony." he said. Sirius raised his eyebrows.

"Really?" Harry nodded "Did he say anything, did Dumbledore send him there?" he asked anxiously.

"I suppose Dumbledore sent him, he told me about Voldemort and stuff, he thought I didn't know anything." he said with a smirk. The two began to converse about Harry's encounter. Throughout the boy's explanation Sirius looked thoughtful and wondered how his old friend had been doing the past ten years.

Harry suddenly pulled something out of his back pocket with a sigh. "I got a wand." he said, looking skeptically at the piece of wood. "This still doesn't seem better than wandless." he grumbled. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Can you stop being so independent all the time? I swear that's going to be the death of you." he said as his godson handed him the wand.

"Hmmm, Holly wood... what's the core?" he asked as he examined it and twirled it around in his palms.

"Er, I think the guy said Phoenix feather." answered Harry. Sirius nodded.

"I got unicorn hair; I never understood when the guy said the wand chooses the wizard... that sounds a bit creepy actually." he muttered. Harry snorted.

September 1, 10:45 a.m.

Harry weaved his trolley through the thick crowd as quickly as he could. Padfoot trailed at his heels- invisible. Sirius used Harry's wand to cast the spell before the family left that morning. He dodged a group of tourists and found himself between platform 9 and 10. He pretended to look around perplexed. His parents and sister emerged from the crowd and stood beside him equally puzzled. "Er... wasn't there supposed to be a platform 9 and something around here?" wondered Kate. Harry nodded and furrowed his eyebrows. Suddenly as if on cue a family of red heads came waltzing towards a solid barrier. 'Perfect timing' thought Harry. A plump middle-aged woman began to line up her children; Harry noticed that they had an owl like the ones he saw at Diagon Alley, he had passed on getting one. Suddenly the eldest child of the group began to run towards the brick wall.

"Is he mad?" muttered his father. Just as the boy was about to collide with the barrier he vanished as if the wall had simply absorbed him. Harry blinked, he felt Padfoot rub his invisible head against his leg reassuringly. After the family had one after the other disappeared into the barrier, Harry pushed his trolley facing the brick wall.

"Er, are you sure about this dear?" asked his mother uncertainly, tapping one of the bricks with a knuckle. Harry took a deep breath.

"Well if those people got in... I don't see why I shouldn't be able to." he said and immediately began to charge before someone could change his mind. As soon as he became within an inch of the wall he shut his eyes and waited for the impact. No matter what Sirius had said before, he was still queasy about running head-long into a solid wall. But, the impact never came. He stopped and opened his eyes to find himself on a crowded platform. Before him was a large, red steam engine- The Hogwarts express. He grinned to himself. He felt a bump against his ankles that told him Padfoot had arrived. He flattened his bangs as he waited for his family to enter the platform. After a minute they appeared behind him looking timidly at the train. Harry mentally noted that they probably had a debate on whether or not they should have followed. Harry smiled and pulled his trunk towards the tracks. After pulling it into the car he searched for an empty compartment. He found one at the end and returned to the platform to say good bye.

"Bye mum" he muttered as he hugged his mother tightly.

"Don't forget to write dear." she said as she returned the hug. Harry mentally spaced out; he was much more interested in getting on the train. After bidding goodbye to his father and Kate, the warning whistle gave two sharp whistles and the doors began to close. With one last word to his family he ran towards the car with Sirius beside him. He walked down the hall to his compartment. He found it was no longer empty. There was another boy his age, a bit chubby with rosy cheeks and brown hair. He was clutching a toad and had an expression on his face as if he had just remembered something extremely significant he had forgotten. Harry raised an eyebrow curiously at the boy and sat down opposite of him; Padfoot crawled under the seat and behind his legs.

"Er, hi... are you alright?" asked Harry timidly. The boy suddenly acknowledged his presence.

"Oh, hello sorry didn't notice you... um I'm alright it's just that I just realized I've forgotten my potion's textbook." he said sheepishly. Harry nodded understandingly and began to fetch a book out of his trunk. He retrieved a thick textbook labeled 'Quiditch through the Ages' which he had gotten at Flourish and Blots. Ever since Sirius had told him about quiditch he couldn't wait to see a game at Hogwarts. Suddenly his reading was interrupted by a cry of despair. He looked up to see the boy lunging for his toad and running after it. He simply shook his head and continued. About three minutes later the compartment door slid open revealing another first year, also brunette, already dressed in her uniform. She looked at Harry and said in an official tone.

"Hi, have you seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one." 'So that's his name' he thought. Harry shook his head.

"He was just sitting here and ran off down the hall after it." he said. He was about to return to his book when the girl's eyes landed on his wand sticking out of his pocket. She raised his eyebrows.

"Have you been doing magic? I have just a few simple ones of course, but they've all worked for me, I'm Hermione Granger by the way, and you are?" she said quickly. Harry suddenly had an impression that he wasn't going to like Hermione very much. He heard something that sounded like a sneeze come from beneath his legs.

"Er, yeah I've been doing a bit of magic." he said.

"Let's see it then!" she said brightly. Harry began to concentrate on his text book but then realized it would

be suspicious if he could already do wandless magic. At the last second he grumbled something and swished his wand randomly. The book hovered three feet into the air. The door slid open again. In the threshold was a male member of the red-headed family, around Harry's age, whom he had seen at the platform. He blinked when he saw the book.

"Um, do you mind if I sit here... everywhere else is full." he muttered. Harry shook his head and began raising and lowering and moving the book side to side. He smirked at the impressed look on Hermione's face.

"Hey you're pretty good at this... what's your name anyway?" she asked. Harry sighed to himself and lowered the book onto the seat next to him.

"Harry, Harry Potter." he answered simply and tried to find his lost place in the book. The boy first year's eyes widened.

"Really? Wow..." he began but was cut off by Hermione.

"I've read about you, you're in _Greatest Wizards of our age, The Battle between Light and Dark ..._" she rambled on until finally she left.

Harry looked towards the red head and said "She-is-scary." the boy snorted.

"Yeah, I'm Ron by the way, Ron Weasley." The boy's eyes traveled towards Harry's forehead where a mop of hair was hiding his scar. "Um, is it true... that-that." he stuttered.

"That what?" asked Harry innocently.

"That you have a scar from where you-know-who cursed you." he whispered.

:"Who? Voldemort?" Ron winced at the sound of his name. "Yeah." said Harry casually turning a page in his book.

"Er... can I see it?" asked Ron timidly. Harry sighed and pulled back his fringe to reveal the lightning bolt shaped souvenir.

"Wicked." whispered Ron under his breath.

About twenty minutes later, a plump old witch with a food trolley came by.

"Anything off the cart dears?" she asked. Ron mumbled something about having some sandwiches. Harry however was curious about Wizard candy. He wanted to try the chocolate frogs Sirius recommended so got a few of those as well as a couple of boxes of Bertie Bott's every flavored beans. He opened the cardboard container of the chocolate frog. He examined the wizard card he had received. Agripia.

"Do you collect?" asked Ron through a mouthful of corned beef. Harry shook his head.

"Not really." he replied. Suddenly a pink nose poked between two boxes of beans. Harry dropped his frog in surprise. "What in the world..." he began.

"Don't worry about him" said Ron holding up a fat old rat by the tail. "It's just Scabbers." Harry was about to begin a second frog when he whipped his attention back to the rat. It was squirming in Ron's grasp but stopped immediately and looked at Harry with watery eyes. He sniffed the air and began to move again. Harry felt Padfoot stir beneath him.

'Wormtail!' thought Harry.

A/N Now it's getting to the good stuff. Review. A/N


	6. Sniffs and Dementors

The Dogfather

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: If I really owned Harry Potter I wouldn't have made all of the best characters have horrible lives and such. It all goes to the evil yet fabulous J.K. Rowling.

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The rat sprang itself from Ron's clutch and sprinted towards the slightly open door. Harry felt Padfoot brush forcefully past him and out the exit. Harry didn't know what to do. his heart pounded, he couldn't believe it, Wormtail, here, posing as a boy's pet Ron was looking at the doorway where his 'pet' had made his getaway in dismay and confusion. He blinked and said. "What the bloody hell happened!" Harry was a bit startled at his use of language.

"Er, I don't know." muttered Harry. "Um I've got to go to the restroom." And he ran into the hallway. The corridor was relatively empty, except for some students actually doing Harry's pretense. He suddenly heard a crash towards the northern side of the train and sped in that direction. He pulled his wand from his jeans pocket just in case, although he wasn't sure what he would do if he saw the rat. He wandered through the corridor for a few more minutes, until he passed a compartment with its blinds shut and was abruptly pulled inside. He looked up to see the human face of his godfather. "Sirius, what in the world happened?" he whispered.

Sirius sighed, "I lost him, his scent isn't on the train anymore, he must've gotten off somehow." he whispered back Harry mentally cursed.

"Should we tell someone if we see him again?" asked the boy anxiously

"I don't know."

"Do you think he's been pretending to be Ron's rat for all these years?" said Harry. Sirius sat down on the floor with his brow furrowed.

"Maybe, he probably chose a wizard family so he could keep an eye out Voldemort... so he could return to his master at the first sign of power..." he muttered. Harry felt his stomach churn.

"We- I better go back or Ron will get suspicious, and maybe I can ask him a few questions about 'Scabbers' " he suggested. Sirius nodded and transformed. Harry renewed the invisibility spell which Sirius had taught him.

They returned to the compartment to find it empty. Harry supposed Ron had gone off in search of the rat. Sirius returned to his place under the seat, while Harry looked out the window as he waited for the other boy to return. Sure enough, after about five minutes, the red-head entered the compartment, distraught. "I can't find him anywhere!" he cried, "Where could he have gone!". Harry mentally noted that Ron hadn't spoken too highly of his pet fifteen minutes before.

"Oh I'm sure he'll show up." said Harry optimistically. Ron grumbled something incoherently under his breath as he sat down on the opposite seat and crossed his arms.

"Hey, how long have you had Scabers?" asked Harry amiably. Ron sighed.

"Well I got him this summer because he was my brother's, Percy, pet but he got an owl this summer because he was made a prefect, he had it for almost ten years before that." he replied. Harry thought about this.

'So he has spent all these years as a rat.' he mused. Just as he was about to ask another question the train abruptly slowed down and the lanterns began to flicker, and then went out. Harry heard screams and shouts coming from the head of the train.

"What's happening?" he whispered to Ron.

"I don't know." replied Ron quietly; fear was evident in his voice. Suddenly a dark figure appeared outside of the compartment. Harry felt Sirius begin to squirm and crawl more deeply under the seat. An immense wave of coldness entered the room, chilling Harry to the bone. The boy heard a faint screaming as the door opened revealing a tall hooded figure. The creature approached Harry and the screaming became louder. He felt only grief and despair inside him. The screaming was louder than ever now and he blacked out.

nXn

Sirius huddled under the seat. 'Oh my flickin' god, dementors!' he thought 'What the hell are they doing here! Damn, damn' suddenly he heard a loud thump. 'Harry! What happened to him!' he thought and crawled towards his unconscious godson. The dementor, supposing his job was done left the compartment. 'Come on wake up Harry!' he thought frantically, licking the boy's face. Soon the lights returned and the door slid open to reveal Remus Lupin, in the flesh. 'Shit.' thought Padfoot and flung himself back under the seat. Remus walked towards Harry with Ron trailing behind, who must have gone for help. Moony knelt next to the boy and pulled his wand out.

"When the dementor came in he just fainted." explained Ron nervously. Remus nodded understandingly. He muttered a spell and Harry snapped up.

"W-what happened?" he cried.

"It was just a dementor." said Remus soothingly as if it were nothing at all. Harry blinked.

"Mr. Lupin? What are you doing here?" he asked confused.

"I didn't tell you? I'm the new defense of the dark arts teacher." replied Remus breaking a piece of chocolate and handing it to the boy. Harry gulped and paled.

"Why was there a dementor?" he said quietly, dreading the answer. Remus sighed heavily.

"It was looking for Sirius Black." he said tersely. Harry felt anger and sadness growing inside of him. He took a large bite of the chocolate to hide his emotions. He felt warmth return to his limbs.

"Why did I faint?" he asked.

"Well I think I'll go ask the driver when we shall be arriving." said Remus suddenly and left, he stalled a moment before closing the door; he sniffed once but then shook his head and proceeded. Harry scowled after him.

'Just great.' he thought. 'Wormtail's been hiding as a rat for ten years, there are dementors at Hogwarts looking for Sirius, there's Moony here looking for Sirius, and Remus isn't telling me something.' Harry slunk back onto the seat and Ron watched him slightly confused. He rolled his eyes and finally resumed his book.

An hour later the train finally stopped. Ron and Harry made their way off the train and Sirius ran off towards the forbidden forest. The two boys heard someone calling in a gruff voice "Firs' years! Firs' years! This way, min' your step, Firs' years!" Harry turned to see the largest man he had ever laid eyes on. He was approximately four times wider than an average sized man and twice as tall.

"Who is that?" said Harry in awe as they followed the man's lantern.

"It must be Hagrid." said Ron. "The grounds keeper, my brothers told me about him."

"Which years are your brothers in?" asked Harry.

"Bill and Charlie are out of school, Percy is in fifth and Fred and George are in third." he answered. "They're all in Gryffindor, like the rest of the family, Charlie was quiditch captain and Bill was head boy, Percy, like I said before is a prefect and all about rules, and Fred and George fool around a lot but still get good marks." Harry grinned at this. He had always considered himself a minor prankster an occasional shaving cream in the pillowcase, pink hair dye in Kate's shampoo, itching powder, the usual, but the castle provided a mountain of possibilities.

"So which house do you think you'll get into." said Ron cutting into Harry's musings.

"Er.. I'm not sure, probably Gryffindor." he muttered.

"Anything's better than Slytherin." said Ron. "Even Hufflepuff." Harry nodded. The path winded around a corner and a lake with a bunch of little boats came into view.

"Four te' a boat." called Hagrid over the crowd. Ron and Harry crawled into one nearby and were followed by Hermione and Neville. Neville looked at Harry for a second and then blinked.

"Y- you're Harry Potter!" he cried. Harry frowned slightly. This was a problem he was going to have to deal with. He simply turned toward the front of the boat and said nothing. Soon the castle came into view. The first years gasped in awe. It was marvelous; Harry couldn't wait to get inside. Hermione tapped Ron on the shoulder and whispered 'You've got a bit of dirt on your nose, right here." Ron scowled, rubbed his nose roughly and joined Harry at the bow of the boat.

"Whichever house she's in I don't want to be in the same." he muttered to Harry. Harry simply rolled his eyes.

The boats stopped in a cave-like dock. As the first years climbed out a 'rib-bet' could be heard over the chatter.

"Trevor!" exclaimed Neville, clutching a toad. The students walked up to an oak door where a stern-looking witch with black-hair tied into a tight bun.

"I am Professor McGonagall, deputy headmistress..." she began. Harry zoned-out- which he was becoming rather good at as she explained the houses and the system. Finally she opened the doors to reveal the entrance hall.

nXn

A/N Now it's getting interesting... well at least I think it is, sorry that it's been a while. Review pwease. A/N


	7. The Sorting

The Dogfather

Chapter 7

Disclaimer: If I were J.K. Rowling I would have gotten everything the way it should be the first time rather than use IT'S NOT MINE!

nXn

The throng of first years shuffled timidly into the entrance hall. Harry, as well as everyone else, stared in awe at their surroundings. The room was large enough to fit Harry's house. Everything seemed to be made of marble as well as a grand staircase. There were several elaborate tapestries and statues. To Harry's right was a tall oak door.

From the chatter coming from behind it, Harry assumed that was the Great Hall where the older students were. Professor McGonagall slipped into the great hall leaving the first years alone. Immediately anxious whispering began.

"What's happening?" asked Harry, after all he wasn't supposed to know. Ron stared at him strangely.

"We're going to be sorted of course!" he replied.

"Well... I'm not exactly familiar with Hogwarts or even magic... I grew up with muggles." Harry mumbled. Ron's eyebrows disappeared into his bangs.

"You! Grew up with muggles!" he exclaimed. Harry concealed a grin. "Not like there's anything _wrong_ with that." he added quickly.

"Yep." said Harry enjoying himself. "I didn't even know I was a wizard until I got my do- Hogwarts letter." 'Close one' thought Harry.

"Really? Er... that's interesting." said Ron timidly. Although Harry knew he was probably thinking something along the lines of 'Our savior doesn't even know what a levitation charm is.'

Suddenly their 'cozy' conversation, was interrupted by some girls' shrieks. The two boys jerked around to see a blonde wailing like a banshee and pointing at the ceiling. Harry and Ron looked up to see several pale gray silhouettes against the marble ceiling. Harry's eyes widened. Ghosts.

This was something about Hogwarts Harry had looked forward to the most. When he was younger he enjoyed stories about ghosts, and liked watching documentaries about them. He never understood why people were afraid of them. If he ever met one he would have a conversation with him or her. One of the ghosts floated over towards Harry. He appeared to be a monk.

"Hello!" he greeted brightly. Harry grinned.

"Hi." he replied.

"Welcome to Hogwarts! I'm the far friar, ghost of Hufflepuff." the ghost continued. "I hope you'll be in my house!" With that he glided away with the rest of his companions.

The large doors opened, to reveal Professor McGonagall. The first years assembled behind her and she lead them into the hall where the other students were waiting. Harry flattened his hair against his forehead as several Ravenclaws pointed and began to whisper. He hoped that everyone wouldn't recognize him immediately. He no longer had the round glasses that were in his description. His parents had let him have contacts for his last birthday. Yet, he still had the messy black hair, emerald eyes and sometimes visible, famous scar. He sighed as the group stopped before a small stool. Upon it was the oldest and most threadbare hat Harry had ever seen. The sorting hat. Harry smiled slightly. He knew that it was supposed to sing any moment now. Sure enough a large seam broke opened as if it were a mouth and it began to sing.

_Oh you may not think I'm pretty but do not judge on what you see_

_For I will eat myself if you could find a smarter hat than me... _

A/N: do I really need to type the whole song?

_...For I'm a thinking cap!_

Harry and the rest of the hall applauded politely. Professor McGonagall unraveled a large scroll in her hands. "Brown, Lavender!" she called. A girl walked towards the stool and McGonagall placed the hat on her. A few seconds later the hat cried out. "Gryffindor" the table to Harry's left applauded enthusiastically. Harry scanned the table and saw three red-heads including a pair of twins whom he assumed were Ron's brothers. The sorting continued. Hermione Granger was sorted into Gryffindor much to the discontent of Ron.

For some the sorting hat took several minutes to make up its mind, for others, like a boy who Ron told him was Draco Malfoy, the Hat barely touched the student's head before saying something. One boy, Neville Longbottom, forgot to take off the hat after being sorted. Finally "Patil, Parvati" was sorted. Harry knew what was coming. Professor McGonagall looked down out the scroll and called out. "Potter, Harry." Harry gulped and stepped towards the stool. He could feel the eyes of everyone in the hall on his back. The whispering made him feel as if he were surrounded by a thousand bees. He sat down on the stool and saw all of the students craning their necks to get a good look at him, before Professor McGonagall placed the hat on his head which fell past his eyes.

"Ah, Harry Potter." said a voice in his ear. Harry rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"Just get it other with hat." he mumbled. He hoped it did not appear that he was speaking to himself.

"Hmm, impatience, definitely not a quality of Hufflepuff, we can cross that off the list." said the hat. Harry snorted.

"What's this? A secret?" it said. Harry's body went rigid and his eyes bulged.

"Shut up and stick to the program!" he snapped angrily.

"Very well, not a bad mind." continued the hat happily. "A thirst to prove yourself.. quality of Slytherin.." Harry's eyes widened in alarm.

"No, no No! You are not going to put me in Slytherin!" he said through gritted teeth.

"Yes, too much of a hot-head... not very cunning either, better be... GRYFFINDOR!" exclaimed the hat. Harry sighed in relief and headed towards The Gryffindor table. His now fellow Gryffindors roared enthusiastically.

Several were chanting. "We've got Potter! We've got Potter!" Harry slid into a seat next to a fifth-year whom he had identified as a Weasely. He was met with several hand-shakes and pats on the back. The Weasely stuck out his hand ceremoniously and greeted him as if he were the mayor. Harry accepted the offered hand as the boy drawled on. He noticed a badge on his school robes. 'So he's Percy' he thought, not really listening to him.

The sorting finally ended with Zabini, Blaise. Dumbledore stood up and cleared his throat. Everyone's attention turned to him. Harry studied the man intently. He looked as if he was in his late 90s. He wore half-moon spectacles which rested on a long crooked nose. His long silver beard grew to the waist where it was tucked into the belt. Yet somehow he looked impressive and powerful. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" he exclaimed. "This year we have a new member to add to the staff, may I introduce Professor Remus Lupin!" everyone clapped politely save Harry who clapped hard. Poor Moony looked extremely shabby next to all of the other teachers in their designer robes. Remus sat down and Dumbledore continued. "Unfortunately Professor Quirell disappeared in the Albanian mountains this summer." murmurs and whispered followed this statement. "First years may be wondering why we have Dementors at the school entrances." he continued grimly. "Last year's Azkaban break-out has forced to take extreme security measures." several first years paled. Harry scowled. "I have three words left to say" said the Headmaster. "Blubber, Nitwit and tweak! Let the feast begin!"

nXn

A/N: yes, I know that it's been a while since I've updated but please don't curse me, I was on Spring break vacation. I know that there are a bunch facts wrong here, but I couldn't find the first book. Personally I like the conversation with the sorting hat. Review! A/N


	8. Beware The Potions Master

The Dogfather

Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Yes, 'tis me, the almighty J.K. Rowling. I'm feeling guilty about the way the original plot went and so I've decided to rewrite the story using this brilliant site... nah, I don't own anything.

nXn

Harry's eyes widened as the golden plates around him filled with food. There was, chicken, carrots, roast, sweet, and mashed potatoes, pasta, great jugs of pumpkin juice and even peppermint humbugs. He eagerly helped himself to carrots and potatoes and dug in. As he enjoyed the meal his eyes wandered to the staff table, observing the teachers. He first noticed the giant-like man whom had led them to the boats. He was having a conversation with a professor which was something to see because the professor was barely half Harry's height. He moved along past Dumbledore whom was laughing heartily at a joke a ghost floating above him was telling him. Next was Professor McGonagall, looking stern as ever, and then his eyes fell upon a pale man with long greasy black hair, dressed in black robes. Harry blinked. This man seemed as if he would rather be curled in some dark cave alone, rather in a brightly lit hall filled with people. He gazed around with distaste as he drank deeply from his goblet. He set his drink down and suddenly locked eyes with Harry. Harry felt shivers run down his spine. He felt himself turn red. The man obviously knew that he was spying on him, and it didn't help that he was now glaring at him with disgust. Harry immediately returned to his potatoes. After a minute he looked up, relieved to find that the man had returned his attention back to his meal. He whispered to Percy, as if the man could here them, "Who's that pale guy with the black robes next to Professor McGonagall?" Percy looked up at the staff table for a moment and then back to his inquirer.

"Oh, that's Professor Snape, Potions Master and head of Slytherin house, he's a bit of a disagreeable fellow." he replied. After Harry got over the small shock that Percy just insulted a teacher, from the few minutes he had known him he did not seem like the sort to do so, he noticed the familiarity in the name Snape.

'Snape, Snape... where have I heard that..' and then it dawned on him. Ron, whom had sat across from Harry, gave him an odd look.

"Er... is everything alright Harry?" he asked timidly. Harry realized that he must have noticed the look of horror that crossed his face.

"Uh, it's nothing... I just think I left something at home." he mumbled.

"Yeah, me too." cut in Neville "I think that I at least forgot my Potion's book and my..." Harry returned to his own thoughts which were not looking too good.

'Severus Snape, potions master. The guy whose life my godfather and father made hell.' he felt himself sinking. He had gathered from the look Snape had given him that he was intent on making _his_ life hell. 'Five minutes in Hogwarts and I already need to talk to Sirius' he thought shaking his head. He couldn't enjoy the rest of the feast because his stomach had double-knotted itself, although he joined into the conversations.

He gathered that Seamus Finiggan was half muggle half wizard; Dean Thomas was muggle-born as well as Lavender Brown. Everyone had the same reaction as Ron when Harry revealed he had been raised as a muggle. Harry simply hummed absent-mindedly as they gave him looks of disbelief. Most of his new classmates began to fill him in on Hogwarts history and other wizard facts. Harry pretended to be oblivious and intrigued; after all, he was supposed to be so. After the last bits of pumpkin pie and apple crisp, both of which Harry barely picked at, Dumbledore stood up and directed the students to got to bed. Percy immediately stood up and tried to look important.

"First years! Follow me please." he said as he puffed out his chest to show-off his prefect badge. The first years followed eagerly, not wanting to be lost on their first night. Harry joined his piers and exited the hall. As Percy played follow the leader Harry tried to keep track of the route they followed. They went u several marble staircases, past an old Oak door which Percy said was the library, seven lefts, and finally to an oil painting of an elegant, tubby lady in a silk pink dress.

"Password?" she said. Percy cleared his throat unnecessarily.

"Cabat Drocotus." he said significantly. The portrait swung as if on a hinge to the left to reveal an entrance. Percy beckoned for them to enter. The group did so and found themselves in what seemed like a furnace. Everything was red. After getting use to the color, Harry noticed that there were many plush armchairs and couches as well as round tables and a roaring fire. Percy cleared his throat again which was getting rather annoying. "This is the Gryffindor Common Room, to your right" he said beckoning to a small staircase. "Are the girl's dormitories, and to your right are the boys." he finished gesturing to an identical one. The group divided and ascended their proper staircases. Harry entered a room with the door marked 'First Years'. He found all of his possessions at the foot of a bed which he assumed was his. After everyone else got dressed and said sleepy good-nights, Harry fished out his copy of _One Thousand Herbs and Magical _Fungi from his trunk and muttered "Time for some review."

nXn

The next morning Harry felt sharp. He had stayed up to at least 3:00 a.m. reading and re-reading the Potions book. He didn't want Snape to catch him off guard and make a fool of him. One of the odd things about Harry was that the later he stayed up, the more energy he had in the morning, and the earlier he went to bed the less. Plus he had taken a shower around six, not just to refresh him but also to wipe off as much of Sirius' scent as he could. He had Remus second period and hoped that he wouldn't be suspicious. After they received their schedules, the first years departed for their first class... Potions.

Harry gulped as he entered the sub-terrain class-room. The knot from the previous night had retied itself and was tighter than ever. The Gryffindors had arrived ten minutes early and assembled themselves quietly on one side of the classroom and pulled their books, parchment, quills and ink out of their bags. Snape simply sat behind his desk and sneered at them. The majority of the Slytherins on the other hand came in as the bell rung, laughing and talking loudly. Snape took no notice to this and rose from his desk. He flicked his wrist and a scroll flew to his hands and he began to take role. Harry waited and waited in dread for when he reached his name, finally after 'Patil' his professor said in a bored tone "Harry Potter... our new celebrity." the Slytherins howled with laughter, which Harry could not understand why, but he simply remained absolutely blank, although his insides were swelling with embarrassment. He could have sworn that he saw a tint of disappointment in Snape's pasty features as he finished the rest of the role. Snape snapped his fingers and the role disappeared, causing quite a few blinks from the Gryffindors, save Harry. He knew that Snape was simply trying to intimidate them, but he wasn't going to make it easy for him, besides, he was too busy going over the prime locations of gilly-weed in the Adriatic Sea.

Snape surveyed his students (or rather the Gryffindors) with distaste; Harry noticed that he liked this look quite a bit. He cleared his throat and began to speak again. "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making..." he continued to drone on in his intimidating manner. Harry was barely aware when he ceased his speech but felt a violent jolt when he said forcefully, "Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" The Slytherins guffawed. Harry was a tad startled, but was ready for this.

"A sleeping draught so powerful it is referred to as the draught of the living dead." he said quietly, he hoped that Snape would not try to make him look like a know-it-all. Snape narrowed his eyes.

"Lucky Guess." he said coldly, this simply made the Slytherins laugh harder.

"Any toddler could answer that, tell me where I would look to find a bezoar?" he asked with a smirk. Harry swallowed.

"A goat's stomach." he replied, again in the same quiet tone. Snape looked angry now, causing the Slytherin's laughter to falter.

"What is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?" snapped the Potions master. Harry tried his best to conceal a smirk. This was getting easy.

"There is no difference." he answered, keeping his face blank. This was all too much for Snape.

"Five points from Gryffindor." he snarled, and began furiously to write the class' potion on the board. As soon as Snape turned around, Harry released all emotion.

'Five points?' he thought appalled. 'For getting the questions right?' he grinded his teeth together as he unpacked his ingredients and set them neatly on the table, yet throughout the lesson his scowl turned to a small grin as he thought of the prospect of revenge.

nXn

A/N: Hi people, sorry for the wait but I hope you liked the chapter anyway. A/N


	9. Revenge is Sweet

The Dogfather Chapter 9

Disclaimer: After that SWAT team and IRS ordeal I'm ready to disclaim anything...

nXn

The rest of Harry's first day went smoothly. He entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom a bit apprehensive, but Remus' nose stayed perfectly still throughout the class. The lesson was quite interesting, including a small lecture of the Dark Arts and its history. Besides potions, transfiguration was the only other area where they had a practical lesson. Harry quickly accomplished the task of turning his match into a needle, deserving a small smile from McGonagall, much to the annoyance of Hermione Granger whom had apparent intent on becoming teacher's pet and only achieved this on her third try. He decided that use of the wand wasn't that bad, considering the absence of pains around his temples. He even began to build a liking for the class, but this was immediately dashed when the Professor assigned them an essay as homework. Charms and Herbology were relatively boring, simply introductions as to what to expect in the upcoming term. During this time Harry carefully planned his revenge on Snape, to the point that throughout dinner almost everybody asked why he had a twisted grin on his face.

After dinner, the students exited the great hall and departed in the direction of their common rooms whilst buzzing excitedly about their first day. Harry gazed angrily at the Gryffindor hour glass which had negative five points in it; Harry tried to compensate for the loss by answering several questions correctly during Defense Against the Dark Arts. He pretended to follow his piers up the marble staircase, but as soon as everyone left he stopped. The hall was empty, making Harry feel mighty small and insignificant in it. In ten minutes every student would be expected to be in bed, the lights would go out and Filch would begin his rounds. Harry felt extremely guilty as he crossed the stone floor towards the semi-opened oak doors leading to the grounds. It was strictly against the rules for any student to be on the grounds after dark, and Harry had already lost points from Gryffindor. But he desperately wanted to speak to Sirius.

The grounds were a tad chilly in the September air. Harry instantly preformed the invisibility spell on himself. Alas, he was yet to master it so unfortunately there was still a blatant silhouette of Harry Potter slowly crossing the sloping lawns. As he did so, he began to think of the rules he was breaking and how many points Gryffindor would lose if he were caught. He reached the border of the Forbidden Forest in about ten minutes. He was pleasantly surprised that no one had caught him yet. Harry began to walk on what seemed to be a path. It was narrow and winded between bushes and trees and not revealing its end, causing Harry to not feel that confident about following it, but reluctantly did so. He trekked further and further into the woods for about twenty minutes, and as each moment passed, the trees looked eerier. As the crickets' innocent chirps began to sound more like menacing growls, making Harry consider hiking back to the castle, a soft padding of paws accompanied buy a few barks could be heard. Harry smiled and dropped his invisibility. Sure enough, a large black dog emerged from a bush to his left. "Hey Sirius." muttered Harry with a grin. Sirius turned around and shook his head east, gesturing for him to follow him. Harry did so, and after five minutes they approached a small slope, between to tall willows, dividing their roots. There was a large hole in the side facing them. Sirius disappeared into the hole and Harry decided to follow. He found that he was now in an underground down hill tunnel. It was extremely dark so he had to rely on the sound of Sirius' padding for direction. He crawled quickly after the dog, bumping his head several times on the low earth ceiling.

Finally the two reached the end of the tunnel. Harry poked his head through the exit to find a cavern, roughly thirty feet high. There was even a small pool of water at one end. Harry eagerly crossed the threshold; Sirius had now transformed and was grinning.

"What do you think?" he asked. The cavern was dimly-lit by a small fire, making his grin a bit eerie-looking.

"This is great!" exclaimed Harry looking around. "How did you find it?"

"I discovered it with James and co. in third year." he replied sitting down. Harry did the same and took out a bag from under his robes. He handed it to Sirius who opened it eagerly and pulled out two loaves of bread. An entire chicken and what appeared to be a gallon of butter beer: at least a week's supply of food for one person.

"Whoa." he said in astonishment. "Thanks a whole lot." and began to stuff a piece of bread in his mouth. He swallowed quickly. "There aren't too many small animals around here... thanks again." Harry nodded. "So how was your first day, you obviously have something important to tell me."

Harry took a deep breath. "You are not going to believe who the potions master is." Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"Who?"

"Severus Snape." Sirius' jaw dropped.

"You're kidding me." he said. But Harry shook his head. "Merlin's Freaking Beard." Harry snorted.

"Yep, and he doesn't seem that keen on making me his favorite student." Harry proceeded to tell his godfather about the misfortune he encountered during first period. By the end Sirius was fuming, but Harry quickly calmed him down. "Don't worry about it." he said. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve."

nXn

Harry entered the Herbology green-house, hungry, and with a leaf behind his ear. The previous night on his way back to the castle he found Hagrid and Fang on a mid-night stroll. He decided to wait until they were done but then Hagrid began to play _fetch_ with the giant squid for about an hour or so Harry retreated to Sirius' cave for the rest of the night. Luckily he had Herbology first period and so did not have to explain why he was on the grounds. Unfortunately he had to miss breakfast, which was the cause of said hunger.

By lunch Harry had his revenge planned out. Most Professors, including Snape, preformed lectures and demonstrations for their NEWTS students at least once a month, the potions master's first lecture was conveniently that Friday. Harry had one thing in mind: to embarrass Snape to the point of no return. Sure it was a bit harsh compared to just the loss of points... but Harry didn't really care about that.

nXn

The NEWTS lectures took place in the conference rooms, in the dungeons. Harry hid himself in the back row, which was fortunately empty. He was eager to see his prank take place. It was simple. Snape had a fairly uniform structure as to how to run the lectures. At 4 o' clock sharp he ordered the house-elves to move his cauldron and supplies to conference room five. He then entered at five and immediately began. Harry gathered this information by asking a couple of sixth years. All he had to do was tell the house-elves to replace the professor's salamander phlegm with something of his own concoction. It was a bit of a gamble but Harry was ready for a surprise: he had no idea what his concoction, bubble bath syrup, caramel, and pink die would do to Snape's wolfs-bane.

Snape's lecture ended and Harry peeked inconspicuously over the row divider, wiggling with anxiety. Snape lit a fire for his cauldron and began to add the different ingredients. The sixth and seventh years, obviously bored, took notes. Snape finished adding to the cauldron and turned over a large hour glass. Harry bit his lip as he waited for his addition to take place. Finally, after three fourths of the sand had fallen, the potion began to whistle. Snape snapped his attention to the cauldron. Harry saw that the formerly indigo liquid was turning maroon, matching Snape's expression. Then suddenly a wolf-like creature emerged from the liquid. The animal was pink and bubbles trailed behind it. Harry felt excitement surge through him. All of the other students were chatting without care, curious as to why the creature appeared. Snape was now beat-read with anger and embarrassment. But the best was yet to come; suddenly the wolf locked its eyes on the potions master and charged at him. Snape screamed, quite femininely, and ran for it. But alas, the wolf quickly caught up and bit him on the ankle. Pink immediately creped up his black robes, until it reached his hair which began flashing in different shades of purple and red. Only his face appeared to be left unharmed. The wolf simply scratched a few flees and faded away. Everybody howled with laughter, including Harry. As the boy rolled on the floor, he wondered what became of the caramel. Snape ran to the nearest exit, coincidentally near Harry. Harry hid himself under the bench but could have sworn that he smelt the aroma of caramel emitting from the professor.

A/N: Hope you all liked the revenge... and sorry to followers of Arisen, I'm definitely updating that next.


	10. Draco Malfoy

The Dogfather

Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Yes it all goes to the fabulous J.K. Rowling, as well as the Harry Potter toothbrush...

nXn

During the days after Snape's incident, word quickly spread until every student couldn't hide a giggle during potions class. On the following morning, the potions master walked into the Great Hall as rigid as stone with his eyes pointing straight forward. His robes were back to their original black but his hair was a bright shade of purple and there was a faint smell of caramel around him. The color and smell wore off in seven days; Harry wanted to make it a month but took pity on him. Snape's pride also wasn't helped by the fact that some sixth years had taken pictures and were selling them for a sickle each.

Everyone knew Snape would not even think of punishing them. For each time he caught students imitating or talking about him, before he could say 'Detention' his hair would immediately begin to flash, causing him to run out of the room as quickly as he could. Harry found this little trick by hunting in the library for ideas.

Sunday morning Harry finally decided to send his parents an owl. He walked slowly to the owlry, enjoying the silence of the halls. After climbing the spiral staircase, he searched for the school owls. He found it, sat down on a pile of straw and took out the quill, ink and parchment he brought. He flicked the end of his quill rapidly back and forth and leaned back, wondering what to write. Most of the things of interest he could not talk about with his parents, like Snape of course. He finally decided to have a boring letter describing the classes and castle. His final letter ended up like this:

_Dear Mum, Dad, Kate, Fish, any person who happens to read this,_

_School at Hogwarts has definitely been odd. The classes are set up as if we learn maths or science but simply replaced by magical studies. In Defense Against the Dark Arts, we study how to defend ourselves with wands against evil wizards or creatures, History of Magic is basically the same except that instead of studying muggles (non-wizard folk) we study ancient witches or wizards and their doings , our Professor, Professor Binns, is dreadfully boring, he's a ghost! There are hundreds of ghosts at Hogwarts. In Transfiguration we learn how to transform different objects into others. Professor McGonagall is awfully strict. She assigned us a two foot (in parchment) essay on our first day! In Charms we learn about everyday spells and in Herbology we learn about magical plants. In Potions we learn how to brew different potions and their uses. The class is set in a dungeon underground. Professor Snape, the potions master, is horrible to all students save those in his house, Slytherin. There are four houses, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor, the house in which I am in. Gryffindor is the house of the brave, Hufflepuff is of the loyal and fair, Ravenclaw is of the clever, and Slytherin is of the cunning and ambitious. There is an invisible rule everyone knows of that Slytherins and Gryffindors hate each other. We were sorted on the first night here by placing an old hat on our heads. The hat then shouted out which house the wearer would be best in. Each house has a ghost, the one for Gryffindor is Sir Nicolas, but everyone calls him nearly headless Nick because he was killed by being executed by the chop, but the axe was blunt so his head hangs on to his neck with a bit of skin. The sport here is Quiditch; it is played on broomsticks and has seven players on each team. Tomorrow the first years will have their first flying lesson, I can hardly wait!_

_Harry _

_P.S. How is Padfoot doing?_

_P.P.S. Use this owl to reply._

Harry rubbed his eyes as he looked for an owl. It was only seven o' clock in the morning so the owls were still returning from their morning hunt. He felt a bit guilty about mentioning 'Padfoot' but couldn't resist, he wondered how his family reacted when they found their 'dog' had 'ran away'. He finally found a brown barn owl, who was very displeased that their breakfast to be interrupted. He sent the owl off and was about to go down to breakfast when he heard footsteps of multiple people ascending. A group of three first year Slytherins appeared on the top landing. The one in front was blonde, pale, and talking loudly. The two behind him were twice as large as him, had stupid expressions on their faces and were nodding dumbly.

"And so, after I poked the dragon in the eye with the end of my broom, I dodged the heat-seeking-superior-foremost-outstanding- missiles" the boy said smugly, the two behind him were confused a second with the big words he was using, but still tried to seem impressed. Harry on the other hand snorted quite loudly. He knew the boy, Draco Malfoy. Sirius had told him that his father, Lucius Malfoy, had been in Voldemort's inner-circle. Draco had repeated stories like that all week to an entourage, each more fictitious than the last.

"Care to say something?" snapped Malfoy, noticing Harry for the first time.

"Not anything significant," said Harry with a shrug turning towards him. "It's just that... I always believed that 'foremost, outstanding, and superior' were relatively the same words... but if you want to be descriptive that's your decision." he said simply. Malfoy's eyes narrowed.

"Are you insulting me Potter?" he questioned dangerously.

Harry instantly clasped his hands together and looked up to the ceiling, and cried sarcastically, "Hallelujah! I think he's got it!"

Malfoy's bleach-blonde eyebrows narrowed and his perfectly manicured fingers curled into tight fists.

"In that case I don't believe you've met my friends." he continued, trying to keep his cool, "Crabbe, Goyle, introduce yourselves." The two boys behind him, who were acting as bodyguards, cracked their knuckles, attempting to be intimidating.

Harry twitched an eyebrow skeptically; the two looked like they would trip over their own feet if they even tried to kill a mosquito. "Ah... I see you have a nice rock collection; I suppose they would be boulders?" It was a bit of a childish response, but it was all he needed.

"Get him!" stammered Malfoy, not quite used to being insulted. Crabbe and Goyle clumsily lunged at Harry. Harry saw them coming in slow motion, well it was their fastest but their wait slowed them down, and simply stepped aside. His attackers crashed into the wall behind him and landed, fortunately, into a pile of straw. Harry wiped an imaginary piece of dust from his shoulder, walked past a stunned Malfoy, who looked paler than before, and down the staircase to breakfast.

Soon everyone in Gryffindor, Slytherin, and some of Ravenclaw, knew of Malfoy and Harry's confrontation. Harry was quite alarmed by this for he was positive that there was no one else around. The number of bullies he had taken down was up to two now. He had become some sort of hero among the first years to the point that he was cheered whenever he entered the common room. This saddened Harry a bit. Snape and Malfoy both used fear as their weapons. No one had yet realized that they were simply a couple of sorry jerks with nothing better to do. Malfoy had grown up using fear. His father was an expert, and worked side-by-side with the sorriest jerk of them all, Voldemort.

Harry eagerly entered the grounds as the third period bell rang surrounded, much to his dislike, by his own entourage towards his first flying lesson.

nXn

A/N: Okay, that chapter probably didn't contribute to the plot much but I liked it all the same : ). Review!


	11. The Marauders Map

The Dogfather

Chapter 11

Disclaimer: urghh... same as all the other chapters.

nXn

Flying lessons had been somewhat successful. After Madam Hooch taught them how to mount their broom and kick off, she paired them to practice accuracy and control. Each partner stood ten feet from each other. One partner hovered three feet in the air, flew to their partner, and got off the broom without it flying away and the other partner would try to mount and do the same. Malfoy had partnered himself with Crabbe which proved to be a big mistake. Crabbe was too stupid to get out of the way when his partner flew towards him, causing him to receive a broken nose because Malfoy believed he was above the speed limit of 15 miles per hour. Madam Hooch took Crabbe to the hospital wing and said, "If any of you mount a broomstick without my supervision, you will be boarding the train home before you can say 'Quiditch'." Harry sighed at this statement and rested on the damp lawn like everyone else. He had been enjoying the lesson so far and was disappointed that it had to stop. His partner was Ron, which was fine with him. Ron was o.k., besides the fact that he had had been grumpy for the past few days because 'Scabbers' was still missing. Harry had made no comment on this matter.

It was during this time Malfoy decided to go looking for trouble. Harry was picking at a dandelion when he heard his voice from behind him. "What's the matter Potter? Are you afraid you might break a nail if you match the speed of a snail?" Harry turned around to see Malfoy sneering at him, at this time only Goyle was at his side, making his presence much less intimidating.

"No." said Harry bluntly, still residing on the grass. "I simply thought that the best way to pass this class was to not injure my partner." To his delight, Harry had maintained speed and control during the exercise.

"I'm challenging you to a duel Potter." said Malfoy shortly. Harry looked confused for a second.

Draco heaved a dramatic sigh, "Then again I suppose you wouldn't know what that is, being raised by filthy muggles and all." he said in mock sadness, Goyle sniggered at this statement. Harry simply frowned.

Ron suddenly cut in, "Of course he knows what one is, I'll be his second!" But Harry silenced him, semi-grasping the idea.

"Hold it Ron, if we duel him and his goons then either one of them could be hurt in the process, possibly land them in the hospital wing, us responsible." he said coolly.

Malfoy laughed, "What makes you so sure you won't be hurt?" he asked, pulling his wand from his pocket.

"This does, _Expelliramus!_" suddenly both Goyle's and Malfoy's wands flew towards Harry, who caught them easily. Malfoy had fallen over from either force or shock of the spell. Every Gryffindor around started laughing, Harry smiled slightly as the two retreated, muttering.

xXx

It was 11:00 and Harry was walking back from the kitchens. He had missed dinner because he was in the library studying different curses in case anyone else decided he was weak. Bread and pumpkin juice in hand, he slipped behind a tapestry that revealed an old wooden door, bolted. He whispered, "Vassurtius." and the bolt loosened, Harry pulled the bolt sideways, opened the door slowly and entered a narrow passage, the passage was a one way trip to the Gryffindor common room, hidden behind a portrait of Godric Gryffindor himself. Harry was walking quickly. He wanted to get back soon because of a potions lab the next day. He planned to study and had checked out several books from the library. The lab was a major grade and he was sure, dignity damaged or not, Snape would try to prevent Harry from passing.

Lost in his thoughts, Harry did not notice the two other occupants of the passage, and thus collided with them rather unpleasantly. Harry looked up to see the two identical freckled faces of Fred and George Weasley. He quickly got to his feet and dusted himself off.

"Er, sorry 'bout that." muttered Harry, and went to retrieve the piece of parchment they had dropped. As soon as he picked up the parchment a spasm of horror crossed his face. The parchment was not blank. In fact, it was filled a complex pattern of lines and dots, forming a copy of the castle. At the top, it was titled the 'Marauder's Map'. Harry's trauma was interrupted by the twins' voices.

"Hey, Harry, could we have the ma- I mean parchment back." demanded George anxiously.

"Yah, it's important... transfiguration homework." added Fred, accompanied by a vigorous nod from his brother. Harry looked at them with a pasty complexion.

"Uh... w-what parchment?" he stammered lamely. His brain was racking for a solution. He needed the map. If the twins kept it, sooner or later they would notice Sirius sooner or later, it was a miracle this hadn't already happened. He could say he needed it, but that was far too suspicious.

"Give it back!" exclaimed Fred and George in sync, grasping for it.

Harry quickly backed up. "No!" he said forcefully, "This is important, Dumbledore could use it against intruders... you should have given it to him before!"

Fred and George stopped for a second, thinking over his statement. Finally George spoke up. "Hold it... how did you know about this passage? You can only find it on the map..."

By then Harry was long gone.

Harry closed his curtains and cast 'lumos'. He spread the map nervously before him and traced its paths. Fred and George were still in the hidden corridor, giving Harry a pang of guilt. He scanned the forbidden forest, seeing Hagrid and Fang in their cabin. He finally found a dot in the corner of the parchment labeled Sirius Black.

Harry recalled asking Sirius the night before he went to Hogwarts if Filch would see him on the map. Sirius simply replied that Filch had no idea how to work it and that no one at Hogwarts would be able to use it against them.

He was dead wrong.

nXn

A/N: Yay, now the plot's back on track! Um, probably a lot of you are disappointed that Harry isn't on the quiditch team... sorry... but this is MY universe :cackles evilly: The exercise I came up with was a bit weak... I always wondered what they would have done had Neville not broken his wrist so soon.


	12. Quiditch anyone?

The Dogfather

Chapter 12

nXn

After the close call with the Marauders Map, Harry was more paranoid than ever about the safety of his godfather.

However, when Harry told Sirius about finding the map, his delight of reclaiming it was much greater than his concern of possibly being discovered. Harry was a bit annoyed by this but shrugged it off. Although, he could not deny that he was also excited.

Harry enthusiastically continued his short career of pranking. The map, of course, was an advantage which he used greatly. He spent his second week of Hogwarts eagerly exploring the secret passages and planning and performing pranks.

At the end of each day or night, Harry carefully wiped the map and hid it between pages 311 and 312 of _A History of Magic_. He would not rely Fred and George, who he both now avoided any contact with, to not go looking for it. Harry kept on reminding himself to cast a locking charm on his trunk but he would need to research a good one from the library first.

Lately Harry found himself spending more time studying or researching. He never had this habit in muggle school before; it was something he naturally picked up once he came to Hogwarts. He found himself attracted to the vast amounts of knowledge held in the book lined walls of the library. Harry was slightly alarmed to find a thirst for power in himself, not for evil purposes, simply to feel more...capable. In this case, knowledge was power, literally.

Harry's newfound desire for knowledge apparently, to his pleasant surprise, reflected onto his marks, even to the point that Professor McGonagall held him back after class one day during the last week of September.

Harry shuffled nervously to his teacher's desk, as his piers made their way to lunch. Ron mouthed as he exited the threshold, 'You are dead, mate'. This certainly did not lighten his friend's fears. Harry silently prayed that this had nothing to do with his latest escapade in which he placed a 'bit' of horse manure, which he obtained from a pile near Hagrid's hut, in the staff room's wardrobe. However, he was instantly relieved when he saw Hermione Granger arrive next to him, slightly apprehensive as to what the transfiguration professor had to say.

Professor McGonagall instructed an eraser to clear the board until the lunch bell rang. She then sat calmly behind her desk.

"I suppose you both are wondering why I requested your presence?" she said.

'No, really?' thought Harry sarcastically, but nodded politely.

"Very well then." she continued, "You may not know, but you two have the highest first year averages." she said, revealing a proud smile, causing Harry's stomach to contract.

"Hm?" he immediately exclaimed. He knew his grades were good, but not that good, especially not in History of Magic and Potions. Hermione's expression was quite different from his. She seemed to have been waiting for this and had an accomplished smile.

"You heard me Mr. Potter, and tighten your tie!"

Harry sighed and carried out her order. It was a bit comical to see him and Hermione standing next to each other, the smartest students in the year. However, Harry's hair was even more untidy than usual, his shoes were untied, and there were bags under his eyes from staying up all night. Although, Hermione's hair was pulled back and she had arranged herself perfectly. As Harry finished, McGonagall continued.

"Both of you have maintained 70 percent O's, 20 E's and 10 A's." she announced. Harry immediately assumed where the A's had come from. "The staff has voted in favor of allowing both of you to participate in advanced classes, in certain courses." she finished.

Harry felt his ears prick up. Advanced classes? "In which courses?" he blurted out.

"For you, Mr. Potter, Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts." she answered.

"And me?" asked Hermione, trying with all her might to not dance on the balls of her feet.

"Charms and Transfiguration." she replied, "Although, there is an exception. In order to attend these classes both of you must pull up your average to at least 70 O's and 30 E's." she explained.

'That's easy.' thought Harry. 'All I have to do is pay attention in History of Magic'

"What do we do for these classes?" asked Hermione excitedly.

"They are second year classes." she explained. Hermione's eyes widened at this, but Harry frowned slightly. He was not sure he liked the idea of that.

"Is it optional?" asked Harry. Hermione immediately stared at him in astonishment as if to say 'How dare you!'

McGonagall shared some of Hermione's expression, but not to as great extent. "Yes, but I strongly advise to not decline the opportunity." she said coldly. Harry simply shrugged and began to weigh the pros and cons.

The Professor continued her briefing, "A permission slip is required, signed by your parent or guardian." Hermione continued to nod, looking like a hyperactive bobble head. Harry didn't listen too much for the rest of the lecture; he finally decided to ask Sirius on the next possible occasion. He peacefully went to lunch with this thought in mind.

That evening there was a buzz of excitement around the Gryffindor bulletin board. After practically swimming his way through the throng of his piers, Harry was able to get a good look at what was posted, it said:

**Attention: All Gryffindor First Years**

Due to lack of interest or ability from older students, the Gryffindor Quiditch team has found desperate need for a seeker. The Gryffindor Quiditch Captain is now accepting first years who wish to join the team. If you are interested, please attend try-outs, Saturday, October 1, 3:00 (Quiditch Pitch)

Oliver Wood,

Gryffindor Quiditch Captain

By Friday, all of the first year Gryffindors, save Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger, had decided to try-out. Initially, Harry had decided against it. He had only ridden a broomstick once in his life. Despite the fact that he and Ron were going to practice after classes that afternoon, Harry really doubted he would be able to make a deep impression on Wood. Although, Ron insisted that he tried. Harry had a tiny suspicion that he didn't have much faith in himself or any other first year.

"What is it to you whether I try-out or not?" asked Harry a bit testily on the way to the pitch, Friday afternoon. Ron stopped and gave his friend a long look.

"'cause you're good!" he replied bluntly. Harry was surprised by this. The silly exercise they practiced during the first flying lesson could not have possibly proven that much. Also, it was not like Ron to be so honest, especially when he was intent on making the same position.

Even more to his surprise, Harry discovered his talent on a broom. Although the school brooms the boys were using could only reach thirty miles an hour and were difficult to turn, Harry was able to catch a fair amount of the walnuts (which Harry had obtained from the kitchens) they were using as substitute snitches. Harry found he very much enjoyed flying, especially diving.

He concentrated on the large nut for five seconds and then ceased to maintain his hover. Gravity was on his side and as soon as he reached the same level as his object, he extended his arm, preventing the walnut from continuing its descent, once it crashed into its captor's palm. Harry tightened his grip around it as well as the handle of the broom, and used all of his strength to pull it upwards, thus, ending the dive. Once he returned to his recent height, he noticed Ron staring at him in awe.

That night, Marauders Map in hand, Harry crept into the entrance hall and made his way towards one of the exits. He reached the oak door and slowly opened it, revealing the grounds. He closed it and began a brisk pace towards the Forbidden Forest. After a glance at the map, he saw that Filch and Ms. Norris were both in the Trophy Room, and Hagrid, asleep in his hut, or Harry guessed he was asleep because his dot was on a bed.

Harry reached the outskirts of the woods in less than three minutes. He followed the now familiar path to Sirius' cave for at least five minutes. Harry finally reached the small hill, which had a fairly large boulder in front of it. Harry tried with all his might and successfully moved the rock aside, enough for him to slip into the hidden tunnel.

Harry entered the dimly lit cavern to find his godfather asleep. He noticed the food from his last visit was neatly piled in the corner. He crawled quietly toward Sirius' sleeping figure until his nose was barely a few centimeters from his ear.

"Boo" he said in a neutral tone. Sirius immediately became rigid and snapped forward into a sitting position, his eyes wide. He noticed Harry, who was on the floor laughing and scowled.

"I told you not to do that anymore." he said scathingly, rubbing the back of his neck to flatten the hairs which had pricked up.

"I know." said Harry between laughs.

Finally the two calmed down and began a sane conversation.

"So, what brings you to my humble abode?" asked Sirius, stretching his arms over his head.

"Several things." replied Harry shortly.

"Care to elaborate?" said his godfather. Harry sighed.

"McGonagall wants me to take advanced courses." muttered the boy.

"Congratulations, and this is a problem why?" inquired Sirius curiously, crossing his legs.

"She said that I'll be taking classes with second years, which means I will end up studying more than I already am and I will have harder work and such." he answered.

"So? You seem to be hungry for knowledge these days; this will be a good opportunity."

"That's what McGonagall said." mumbled Harry.

Sirius sighed dramatically, "I thought I would never see the day, but Minerva may be right!" Harry simply rolled his eyes.

"Fine, I'll take your word for it." Harry consented.

"So what else is about?" said Sirius.

"Gryffindor can't find a seeker... so the captain is accepting first years to try-out." answered Harry.

"And?" said his godfather raising an eyebrow.

"My friend, Ron, thinks I'm pretty good and so, I'm going to try-out." he continued.

Sirius' eyes widened with excitement.

nXn

A/N: Long chapter, hm? Oh well, I think it is. I can imagine a lot of you not liking the idea of advanced classes, but it's your mind, can't control it: shrugs: I can't remember if first years are aloud to join the quiditch team or not, but in the fifth book, there weren't any first years at try-outs and I'm guessing that Wood wouldn't accept first years unless there was an exception, (like Harry). Anyways, Harry is finding he's better at things than he thought. Review


	13. Proved

The Dogfather

Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I was disappointed to find © J.K. Rowling at the end of EVERY book mwaaa...

nXn

Harry stood patiently in the assembled line of first years.

At the head of the line was Oliver Wood, observing the excited first years with a sigh and holding a clipboard. The rest of the team was sitting in near by stands, ready to take notes, while scowling softly at their last resort of a seeker, save the Weasely twins who were carrying the crate of balls out onto the pitch whilst glaring softly at Harry who avoided eye contact with them.

As Fred and George placed the crate unceremoniously onto the ground next to their Captain, he cleared his throat and began to explain the procedure.

"Alright, I will release the snitch and time how long it takes each of you to catch it. Obviously, the one with the shortest time will gain the spot, the one with the second shortest will be alternate." he explained tiredly.

Harry nodded absent-mindedly and scratched the back of his neck. He had an odd feeling that there was someone watching him. He slowly looked around as his piers stepped forward. Finally, he noticed it. Where the score-keeping tower and Gryffindor stands met, a barely noticeable patch of black fur stuck out from behind the banner draped over the wall. Harry shook his head and cursed mildly under his breath and thought, 'That dog doesn't care nearly as much about himself as I do.'

Harry watched interestedly as his classmates took their turns. He tried his best to disguise a snort as Parvati Patil and Lavender Browne searched for the winged ball. Parvati, much to the annoyance of everyone, took a full thirty minutes and once she was in reaching distance of it, promptly suffered a three foot fall from her broom after flailing madly for it. Lavender Browne immediately lost control of her broom, causing the team to jump from their seats as she came flying towards them. Dean Thomas wasn't bad, he almost caught it in less than ten minutes, but crashed into the ground. Seamus Finnigan took fifteen minutes and Ron, 20. Finally, it was Harry's turn.

By now, Wood had lost all faith and was muttering something along the lines of 'We'll have to use Wilson now' whilst furiously crossing something out on his clipboard.

Fred released the snitch and Harry kicked off. Wood had borrowed a school broom for the try-outs, so it was stubborn to ascend, but soon Harry was at the height of roughly thirty feet. He squinted and saw a tiny speck of gold around the southern goal posts. He made his way towards it, aware of the eyes upon him. Once he reached his destination Harry found the snitch had changed its course and was fluttering twenty above his head. He grinded his teeth and muttered, "This is a hell of a lot different than walnuts." and sped towards his objective. Alas, once he became even with the golden ball, it immediately dropped. A small grin crossed Harry's face as he began to pursue, 'A dive, my specialty'...

"That was brilliant!" exclaimed George Weasley excitedly, completely forgetting about their previous encounter.

"Thanks" grinned Harry.

Harry had captured the snitch in exactly one minute and fourteen seconds and about two feet off of the ground. Wood had welcomed him onto the team like a hyperactive chipmunk before vaguely thanking everyone for coming and announcing that the alternate was some third year.

"Again, that was some dive." congratulated Wood breathlessly. "I've got to go break the news to McGonagall, first practice is Wednesday, 6:00"

After receiving another round of pats on the back from his now fellow team mates, Harry stored the broom back into the shed and was met with a familiar, furry, face. Harry laughed as the dog playfully knocked him onto his back before licking his face. He helped himself up and stared seriously, no pun intended, at his godfather. "Sirius, you can't do that, you could have been spotted."

The dog simply looked up at him and began to whimper innocently as if to say, 'Why would someone care if they saw a sweet loving dog like me?'

"Remus could have been there! He would have recognized you in a flash." he cried indignantly.

Sirius rolled his eyes as much as he could and flared his nostrils, intending to remark along the lines of 'Don't be so paranoid, I wouldn't be that dense.'

Harry sighed and muttered, "We'll see who's dense when you're walking around as an empty shell."

After bidding farewell inconspicuously to his godfather, Harry made his way to Gryffindor Tower.

Two weeks later:

Harry finished his History of Magic essay with a flourish.

His average for the last two weeks and a half had been ranging from E to O. He had finally bared down in History of Magic and was surprised to find Snape granting him E's.

He supposed that McGonagall had forced the stubborn potions master to grade reasonably. However, this did not stop him from still treating Harry like the scum of earth, quite the opposite actually. He had acquired detention for coughing too loudly in class and asking Seamus for some frog livers.

Professor McGonagall announced to them, and four other first years that they were now able to attend the advanced courses. Hermione had pulled her marks up in Defense against the Dark Arts and thus, much to Harry's distaste, would be taking the courses in that subject.

On the evening of October 15, Harry, Hermione, Hannah Abbot, a Hufflepuff, and Susan Bones, a Ravenclaw gathered in Professor Lupin's classroom. Everyone was wondering what was taking the Professor so long to arrive and what to expect on their first lesson.

In regular classes, they studied the simplest defense spells and rarely did anything practical, they occasionally studied dark creatures.

Finally, soft footsteps could be heard in the hall and soon the awaited Professor appeared in the threshold, carrying a large traveling case.

"Ah, hello there!" greeted the teacher setting his case on the desk. "I was catching the subject of our first lesson, it is a boggart, I found it hiding in one of the belfries.

Harry immediately began to think of his worst fear.

A/N: Dun, dun, dun, a boggart, no his worst fear is not a dementor. Sorry I didn't update sooner, I had basketball camp last week. Um... why is it that a lot of you assumed that just because first years can't have their own brooms they can't join the team? No offense. I looked through the first book and found no proof saying first years could or couldn't join, except Malfoy said 'It's a crime if I'm not chosen for the team' but he could have just been being vain, but this is an alternate universe so.. Special thanks to LaRohaZeta for giving me the idea to have Sirius watch the try-outs. Yay! I've broken 200 reviews, Byes.


	14. You can't run away forever

The Dogfather

Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I swear, J.K. Rowling stole the idea from me:: continues to rant while being dragged away by men in white suits:

nXn

"First question, what is a boggart?" said Lupin wisely.

Hermione immediately stuck her hand into the air, causing Lupin to frown slightly.

"Yes, Hermione."

"It is a shape-shifter." she answered. "The form it takes is the worst fear of the person it faces."

"Correct, five points to Gryffindor, now what would happen if the boggart were to face two people at the same time?" he questioned.

Harry decided to make things more interesting and raised his hand. The Professor was relieved to see someone else participate and called on him.

"It would be confused, and thus, try to take two different forms at once." he replied.

"Again, correct, five more points to Gryffindor." the werewolf granted. Susan and Hannah frowned a bit and looked put out. "Tonight I shall teach you how to defend yourself against boggarts, take a moment to think of your worst fear and how to make it funny." he instructed.

Harry slowly closed his eyes and thought hard, but there was now avoiding it. His worst fear was Sirius, soulless. How was he supposed to make that funny? And what would Moony think of it? He felt his stomach squirm as the professor taught them the incantation, 'Ridikulus'.

"Now," said the werewolf, placing a hand on the leather strap which bonded the shaking case shut. "I will call each of you forward at a time, once you stop the boggart, step aside." The students nodded and looked slightly fearful as their professor began to undo the straps.

"Susan, you first." he called before the case snapped open. The Ravenclaw stepped forward and faced a mime holding a knife. A/N: Aaaahhhhhhhhhh:runs away screaming: A/N

"Ridikulus!" she cried bravely. The mime's make-up began drip off his face and the knife turned into a banana.

"Hermione!" called Lupin. The Gryffindor stepped up. The melting mime suddenly turned into Hermione herself. The seudo-Hermione held out her wand and chanted spell after spell, but nothing happened.

The real Hermione began to shake slightly and stuttered the incantation, "R-ridikulus!" Her fake self suddenly produced a mass of penguins, which began to hail her.

"Hannah!" called Lupin, trying to conceal a laugh. The blonde girl marched forth as the penguins changed to a giant black rat with red eyes. The Hufflepuff paled slightly and murmured the spell. Suddenly, the rat lost its tail and it began to panic and run around in circles.

Finally, Lupin commanded Harry to step forward.

Stomach churning, the Gryffindor in question slowly walked toward the giant rodent. However, the rat, too soon for Harry's comfort, began to change. It shortened and soon there was a man in his place. The man had grey robes and lifeless grey eyes, staring forever at nothing. Harry felt his mouth grow dry, as he simply gaped at his godfather, but his conscience kicked in, screaming, 'You need to get rid of that, dolt!'

Harry, only dimly aware of the stares he was receiving, weakly raised his wand and whispered, "Ridikulus." The soulless Sirius turned pink and shrank into a poodle. 'Quite fitting.' he thought vaguely.

A cough brought him back to reality. Harry looked around and found everyone sending him perplexed looks as the poodle ran around him, yipping. He braved a peak at Remus and found him gazing at him with his mouth slightly open. "Class dismissed, Harry I need to-" But Harry was already half-way down the corridor.

'Dammit, I need to stop doing that.' he thought furiously, as he ascended the staircase to the Gryffindor boys' dorm. There was no way he could avoid Remus, sooner or later he would confront him about the boggart and Harry had no idea what he would say or do.

He opened the door to the dorm and found him face to face with the person he least wanted to see at the moment. Well, maybe second or third to least.

"What are you doing here?" growled Harry to a calm Hermione Granger. 'Or more importantly, how did she get here before me?'

"What was your boggart?" she retorted brightly. Harry scowled, pushed past her, and went into the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind him. He undressed and took a cold shower, hoping she had left. 'I _really_ need to stop doing that' he thought.

The next morning a small flock of owls entered the great hall along with the rest of the mail, carrying a long package, catching everyone's attention.

Harry was quite surprised when the birds landed in front of him. There was a small note attached to the parcel. Luckily, Harry examined this first.

_Mr.Potter, _

_This package contains your Nimbus 2000 _

_Please do not open it at the table. _

_Minerva McGonagall. _

Harry snorted slightly. When it came to rules in general, McGonagall took pride in enforcing them. However, when the words 'Gryffindor' and 'Quiditch Cup' were in the situation, all abiding ways she once had flew to the wind. Anything to wipe that smirk off of Severus Snape's face. Harry heartily agreed.

Harry finished his toast, grasped the parcel in one hand and walked briskly out of the hall, with Ron tagging along. Harry muttered the contents of the package to his friend as they climbed the marble staircase. Ron practically squeaked with excitement and exclaimed, "Wait until Malfoy finds out!" And, as if on cue, the Slytherin in question appeared around the corner, flanked by his ever-present cronies.

Malfoy snatched the brown-papered package from Harry's hands and ran his hand along it before tossing it back. "Broomstick, do you think just because you have a smart mouth and that stupid scar that they'll let you have one, eh Potter?"

Harry sighed and Ron began to turn red. "Have we not already established this? I am not like you, and so therefore do not believe I am above the rules or better than anyone for that matter, if you really care, Professor McGonagall personally made it possible for me to obtain this." said Harry coolly, watching Malfoy falter.

"And it's a Nimbus 2000!" added Ron less smoothly "What do you have at home? A Comet 260!"

Suddenly, Professor Flitwick turned the corner and observed the scene. "Is there a problem?" he squeaked brightly.

Malfoy, defeated, muttered "No." and slouched down to breakfast.

nXn

A/N: More Malfoy torturing, yes it is getting old but... it's so much fun! Uh-oh, Harry's in a bit of a pickle Hermione's suspicious. The running away thing is getting old as well, and something Harry needs to fix, that's sort of what the chapter's about... see title... And I personally congratulate all who guessed Harry's worst fear with imaginary chocolate medals. And, Dragon, if you locked me in a room with Snape for 2006 years, it wouldn't be wasted time, I could wash his hair within that period! Don't expect many updates for a while after this week; I'm going to Peru for two weeks. Review!


	15. Lies

The Dogfather

Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Sadly, J.K. Rowling owns Harry and Sirius and all of their wittle furry friends at the moment... but once my army of ukulele brandishing Oompa-Loompas go through basic training...

nXn

Two red-headed figures could be seen crouching over a steaming cauldron.

"So... how long will it take, Fred?" asked one exasperatedly.

"A while, my dear brother." answered the other, now identified as Fred, with a deep sigh. "It will take another week to finish collecting supplies... a month and a half to brew...then it will finish simmering just before Christmas holidays."

His brother's grimace was obscured by the mist emitted by their potion and his animated cursing was drowned out by a sorrowful moan.

xXx

Harry stared, unblinking, at his Defense Against The Dark Arts professor with a blank expression. He had rehearsed what he was going to say and do, over, and over again in his mind.

"Harry, I wanted to talk about our lesson last night." said Remus as the last of his students filed out of the classroom. Ron had raised an eyebrow and Hermione Granger cast him a suspicious glance. "Please, take a seat." Harry obeyed without saying anything.

"I would like to inquire about your boggart." he continued gravely.

"What about it?" replied Harry smoothly.

"Well... what has caused you to fear... Sirius Black?" enquired the teacher quietly.

Although it was only there for a second, Harry glimpsed a slight wince cross his face at the mention of Sirius' name.

"I thought it was obvious, Professor." he began "Black is a crazy death-eater, out to get me." here he bit his lip as he thought of the 'crazy death-eater' probably lying on his back in his cave, chewing on a licorice wand while chanting, 'four hundred and 63 bottles of butter beer on the wall...' "Personally, I find it quite troubling that someone I have never met and know little about, is searching for and plotting to kill me, quite possibly, as we speak."

As he ended he looked Remus straight in the eye, wondering how he would take this, to his immense surprise, something that resembled a blush creped over his features.

"Ah, well... of course." he mumbled. "But, I'm still rather curious why Voldemort wasn't your-er- worst fear."

Harry mentally noted that he said his name.

Remus mentally noted that Harry did not flinch.

"Well, you see here, Voldemort, or so we think, is gone. At the moment he is not much of a threat, and I have faced him, even though I can hardly remember it, and so I believe I wouldn't be too petrified if I had too again." he paused to take a breath and let this sink in. "Black on the other hand is _not_, or so we think, gone, I have _not _faced him, so therefore do not know how I would feel doing so in the future, and he _is_ a current threat."

Remus nodded vaguely. "Very well then, off you go, enjoy the rest of your break."

Harry slung his bag over his shoulder and made his way toward the door. He opened it and before he could even begin to marvel over how easy that had been, he caught a glimpse of a mane of brown hair whip around the corner at the end of the corridor.

Harry sighed and continued to enjoy his victory. He couldn't believe it; Remus hadn't even asked where he heard that Sirius was after him and best of all, he was embarrassed!

The Gryffindor supposed that was why he had avoided the question... for now. He had to create a cover story, just in case.

That Hermione knew what had passed between him and Remus didn't trouble Harry too deeply. The only thing that irritated him slightly was that she was becoming too nosy for comfort.

He wondered slightly whether or not Moony had noticed Sirius' blank expression. Harry decided that only he could see directly into his eyes... those lifeless eyes.

As October raged on, so did quiditch training. The first quiditch match was scheduled at the beginning of November, Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Harry found that his cramped schedule was getting tough. Quiditch: Tuesday and Wednesday 6:00, Friday, 7:00 and Saturday at 3:00. Advanced courses: Monday and Wednesday 8:00, (Defense Against the Dark Arts) Thursday and Sunday, 7:00 (Charms). The team personally thanked Harry for making a reason for Wood to cut Wednesday evening practices to an hour and a half rather than two and a half. The Captain ended up deciding ("It's no use training without the whole team").

On top of all that, he had homework from his regular classes. He had divided his tasks into three different periods. 3:00- 5:00 on weekdays. (This time was normally reserved for Snape's assignments, who had somehow found out about the boy's busy schedule and had taken advantage of it by assigning him, personally, essays on Wednesdays for fairly ridiculous reasons) and Defense Against The Dark Arts. 6:00 – 7:30 was saved for Transfiguration, History of Magic and Charms, and break was for Herbology. Although he mostly was able to finish everything in the second period. If that didn't work, he would always squeeze some into lunch or History of Magic. Luckily, Astronomy was only once a week so he usually finished the work on Saturday.

Harry paid Sirius another visit to tell about the Boggart ordeal. Sure enough, his godfather took the news very seriously (no pun intended).

"And Moony believed you?" he muttered, pacing the cave quickly.

"Yeah, well, at least I think so..." said Harry, sitting with his back against the wall. "I was surprised he bought it...'cause it would have made more sense, despite the reasons I presented, if Voldemort was my worst fear."

Sirius nodded gravely and sat down. "Yeah, and I'm pretty sure that this is not the last we'll hear from him on the subject."

On Monday evening, Harry entered the Defense Against The Dark Arts Classroom with his head held high, which was a bad mistake once he saw someone else sitting behind the desk.

"Take a seat Potter! And wipe that ridiculous smirk of your face!" snapped Snape, with a ridiculous smirk on his own face.

Harry quickly obeyed and stared stonily at the blackboard. He was about to ask where Professor Lupin was, when the answer hit him in the face. Remus had been terribly tired during the afternoon's lesson, also he had been quite ill a month ago. He saw out of the corner of his eye a silver strand of moonlight. Poor Moony.

However, Hermione Granger was quick to ask that question.

Snape smirked and snapped, "He is ill." in a voice that confirmed that his statement was far from the truth.

"Now, what was Lupin teaching you? Boggarts?" Snape scoffed. "That is far from second year material." He began to flip to the very back of the book. "I believe it would be fair to skip to Werewolves."

nXn

A/N: Hey peeps! I'm back! Peru was great, I went to Lima and Cuzco, and I also spent some time in Chile (Santiago and Easter Island). Uh-oh, Fred and George are up to something,a chocolate medal to anyone who guesses where they are! And for those who thought Moony would avoid Harry during the Boggart lesson, it's kind of hard to do that in a class of four, and he would feal ripped offif he went through all of thetrouble of taking the courses and such.Harry got let off the hook a bit, which I know is more than a bit cheap... but... oh well. Stupid, Snape being the big meany again.


	16. Some Friendly, Some not so

The Dogfather

Chapter 16

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and world of, not me... though I'm flattered if you thought so.

nXn

Harry grinded his teeth together as he turned to a page with an illustration of a ferocious-looking wolf. He knew exactly what Snape was doing, he just hoped the rest of the class wouldn't be too quick about it, but Hermione Granger was sure to catch on.

Snape ended up assigning a two-foot long essay on ways to identify a werewolf, even though they weren't supposed to get homework from the extra classes. Hannah Abbot voiced her objection, and Snape took five points from Gryffindor because Harry supposedly 'Influenced such cheek.'

Remus finally returned, much to everyone's happiness, after a three day absence.

And, as Harry and Sirius expected, he confronted Harry of how he obtained the information.

Harry shuffled his feet innocently and said the lamest excuse ever to come to his mind, "Well, I was on platform 9 ¾ and I over-heard some adults talking about it... they were behind a pillar so I couldn't see their faces." But it was good enough. Remus couldn't check with these 'adults' to see if they were actually speaking about this particular subject, there and then, and it was perfectly possible.

Sure enough, a trace of skepticism crossed the werewolf's face.

"How did you feel about this?" he inquired.

"I was pretty freaked out..." replied Harry, sticking to his story, "Afterwards I went to the library and researched 'Sirius Black' and found out that he was well... a crazy murderer..." he found that he had much trouble referring to his godfather in that way.

Then Remus whispered, barely audibly, "He wasn't always that way." Harry pretended not to notice and Moony soon dismissed him.

Halloween came and went and everyone's attention turned to the nearest quiditch match, Slytherin versus Gryffindor.

A couple of days before the match, during break, Harry ( he had finished his Herbology homework early) sat on a stone bench, reading _Quiditch Through The Ages_. Ron was sitting on a nearby bench, trading Chocolate Frog Cards with Seamus Finiggan.

"Hey Harry." said a quiet voice beside him. Harry whipped around wildly to find Hermione Granger sharing the bench with him, holding a jar containing a little blue flame.

"Hello." said Harry slowly, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Hermione took no notice of his coldness, or didn't show it. "I know that you know Professor Lupin is a." she dropped her voice to a whisper, "werewolf."

Harry blinked and snapped towards her. "What! How did you know!" he whispered furiously.

"Well it was quite obvious." she said casually. "The way you kept looking out the window at the sky... the way you looked when Snape said what we were studying... speaking of Snape..."

Sure enough, the said potions master came striding into the courtyard, his black robes billowing behind him in an over- dramatic way. Hermione quickly hid the jar behind her back, which she wasn't sure was legal or not. Alas, Snape immediately made a bee-line for the two and stopped in front of the two.

"Potter!" Harry started what had he done now? "Library books are not allowed outside!" he exclaimed smugly, snatching _Quiditch Through The Ages _from his grasp.

Hermione frowned and whipped out her wand, "He just made that up." she said as he began to walk away. "Incindio!" suddenly, the hem of Snape's began to smoke, but he didn't seem to notice.

Hermione smirked triumphantly and returned her wand to her pocket, unaware that Harry was gaping at her.

"What was that!" he exclaimed, becoming more amazed at her by the second.

"What." she said innocently.

"I thought you respected teachers and abided rules and junk like that!"

"Well... he's been more than a bit of a git lately... like taking away points from Gryffindor for no reason...making up rules... trying to get Professor Lupin sacked-"

"Hold it! You don't care that Re- Professor Lupin is a werewolf?" questioned Harry, whispering the last part, while raising a hand for silence

"Of course! Why would I?"

From that moment forward, Harry found himself on friendly terms with his fellow Gryffindor.

Harry slowly pulled his scarlet quiditch robes over his jeans and t-shirt. At the moment, his mind felt very much like the scrambled eggs he had been forced to eat that morning at breakfast.

Wood obviously noticed the seeker's discomfort and tried to speak some 'assuring' words of advice. "Don't worry Harry, I remember my first quiditch game! I took a bludger to the head, woke up in the hospital wing a week later!"

Somehow, this emphasized Harry's scrambled egg feeling.

After an animated pep talk, aided by Fred and George, the team sullenly made their way to the field and gathered around Madam Hooch. "Now I want a nice fair game, all of you." and with that, she blew her whistle and through up the quaffle. Harry soared high above the game, just as Wood had instructed. ("Don't worry about anything else, just do your job.")

But unfortunately, he did have something to worry about. Sirius had made it clear that he would be watching, despite Harry's protests. All the boy could do was hope he had enough sense to keep covered.

Harry circled the game slowly. So far there had been no sign of the snitch, unless you count the glint of gold that turned out to be George Weasley's wrist watch. He was slightly annoyed that Terrence Higgs, Slytherin seeker, had been following him the whole time so far.

Angelina Johnson, chaser, scored and two thirds of the crowd erupted in cheers. Lee Jordan, commentator began a comment that was unrelated to the match and was immediately cut off by McGonagall.

Harry did a loop-the loop in celebration, and was immediately interrupted by a bludger, aimed his way by the Slytherin beater. Fred Weasely zoomed after it, and he saw it. The snitch was hovering above... the Slytherin Keeper's ear! 'How am I going to do this one?' muttered Harry, flying as quickly as he could towards the other end.

Terrence Higgs noticed this and quickly followed. As Harry approached the keeper, Bletchley honestly looked like Harry was a bullet coming towards him. Harry scrunched his body together, to avoid fouling, extended his hand... Terrence Higgs tried this, but his bulky frame, not at all fit for a seeker, sent both Harry and Bletchley flying. Harry grasped his broom quickly and lifted himself back up. Bletchley, however, wasn't as lucky, and fell, but Madam Hooch caught him and dragged him back to the safety of his broom.

She then called a penalty on Higgs. Alicia Spinnet took the penalty, and scored, but Harry had a feeling that it was helped that Bletchley was scared out of his wits by the fall.

After the game returned to full action, Harry spotted it again. It was hovering near the southern end of the pitch about a foot from the ground. Harry immediately began to descend. Higgs soon followed but pulled out a yard above the ground. Harry extended his hand once more, and clasped it around the golden ball. The stands erupted into cheers, save the Slytherins of course. Harry began to circle the pitch in triumph, when he realized something was wrong, terribly, terribly wrong.

He turned back to the southern end. There, not more than a few yards away, were four dementors making their way straight towards him. Suddenly everything was cold, the cheering immediately stopped and Harry began to hear that feint screaming again. He frantically tried to fly in the opposite direction, but the cold rattled breaths emitting from the dark creatures seemed to be pulling him back, pulling him down.

The screaming intensified and suddenly he heard different voices. "Take Harry and run! It's him!." exclaimed the voice of a young man. Then "Stand aside you silly girl!"a deep voice boomedand an evil, somehow familiar, laugh followed.

The next thing he knew, he was lying in a hospital wing bed, surrounded by the Gryffindor quiditch team.

"What happened!" he exclaimed frantically, bolting up into a sitting position.

"You fell from your broom, mate." said Fred

"But it was only a ten foot drop." said George.

"Nothing serious." added Fred.

At the accidental mention of his godfather, Harry looked frantically around as if he would see Sirius gagged and bound in the cot next to him.

"Did I faint?" asked Harry shakily.

"Er yeah." said a voice to his right. He looked to find Hermione and Ron there. "You fell and then one picked you up and lowered its hood, Dumbledore came and shouted at them and sent this silvery thing towards them and they went away." said Ron, his freckles standing out against his pale complexion.

"Yeah, they came to the field last year too, butmuch moreof them..." said Alicia Spinnet "and when they picked you up the weirdest thing happened... this huge dog ran out onto the pitch..."

nXn

A/N: Uh-Oh dementors, dun dun dun... okay... I think the bit with his parents was messed up... but I can't find my copy of the third book, so just bear with me. Hermione's joined the clique to form the invincible golden trio! But the story's not going to concentrate on that too much... A chocolate medal goes to the one and only Jersey Princess! Gosh, tons of peoplesuspected poly juice potion... I guess it does sound that way... but... sorry... If you all think it's terribly OOC that Hermione lit Snape's robe on fire... by all means, flame but I still liked it :walks away humming: so tonpi!


	17. Slime and Grime

The Dogfather

Chapter 17

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is simply under my imperius curse to divert the attention away from myself...

nXn

To Harry's immense relief, the dog, a.k.a. his idiot godfather, simply growled at the creatures and licked his face before Dumbledore sent them away. And because Remus sent no suspicious looks his way, Harry was sure he had been too occupied to notice anything.

Ron had immediately caught on to Hermione after Harry spoke of her encounter with Snape. Despite their blatant differences, the red-head also found it useful to have someone check over his Charms homework. Also, Harry was slightly suspicious that Hermione enjoyed having someone to reprimand.

He couldn't decide which one was worse.

December 1st broke with a foot of snow covering the grounds like a thick quilt. This was also a helpful reminder that it was two weeks until Christmas break. Unfortunately, this also made school work harder and harder to deal with.

Especially in Snape's classroom. Mist from, no not the cauldrons, but the students' breath floated high above their heads, and most pupils wore their gloves and scarves while trying to warm their hands near their fires. What made it worse was that Snape decided to take this time in particular to be meaner than ever. If someone's potion ended up being periwinkle instead of aqua marine, he would chant 'The holidays are more than a week away and you numskulls think it's okay to slack off already?' Harsh.

The trio took notice of their Potions Master's ways and double checked every line they read, said absolutely nothing, and concentrated solely on their work. However, not all good plans succeed.

Tip Tap Tippity Tap.

Harry slowly stirred his potion. There were only five minutes left in the class. He knew he could make it.

Tip Tap Tippity Tap

He had walked into the classroom to find that the ceiling was leaking. Directly over his seat.

Tip Tap Tippity Tap

Snape seemed to not notice it or care, most likely the latter so Harry realized he would have to live with it for the period. The best he could do was prevent it from falling into his cauldron. He had no idea how it would affect his work.

Tip Tap Tippity shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Harry was swept aside as a wave of water came rushing from the ceiling. After coughing up at least a quart of water, the Gryffindor groggily looked up to see his cauldron knocked over and creating a sea of neon orange liquid. He looked to his left and right to see the same effect on Hermione's and Ron's Potion. Seamus Finnigan, Harry's partner, stared in horror as Snape came sweeping towards them. With a wave of his wand, the substance disappeared.

"Potter! Granger! Weasely! Finnigan! Detention! Tonight, my office, 8:00!" barked the Professor.

Was it just Harry's luck that it was a Wednesday?

Harry ran as fast as his little Gryffindor legs could carry him, sliding down banisters and using every secret passage he could think of. He finally found himself in front of the plain wooden door of Professor Snivelus. He wrenched it open and to his horror found Snape tapping his pocket watch disapprovingly.

"Late. Your friends can thank you for holding them back half a hour." he sneered evilly. Seamus had to place a firm hand on Ron's shoulder to prevent him from leaping at the back of his teacher. Hermione skidded into the room, breathing as if she'd run the equivalent of a marathon, which she probably had.

"But, Professor, I had Defense-"protested Harry but was cut off by Snape.

"No excuses Potter."

Snape led the four Gryfindors to a door which looked as if it hadn't been used in at least a century. The Potions Master pushed the door open with a finger and it immediately fell off of its hinges into a cloud of dust. He made a gesture that indicated the students should proceed, they tentatively followed and immediately regretted it. The room smelled as if it held every ungodly thing under the sun. Finally Snape had the decency to light a torch and hang it in a niche in the stone wall, which they now realized was covered in an inch thick layer of green slime. Harry felt something fall onto his head. He looked up to find that the ceiling was covered with the same substance as well.

"This room." said Snape finally, enjoying their reactions. "Will be used next year as a classroom for the elder years, I think you four can start the cleaning process." Snape waved his wand and a few buckets of soapy water, rags, mops and a couple of ladders appeared on a semi-dry are of the floor.

"No magic. And if I find a single trace, the punishments shall be dire." he said in such a way that made goose bumps run up Harry's spine. "I shall check on your progress in half a hour." and with one more dramatic swish of hisrobes, he stepped over the destroyed door and was gone." Ron let out a low moan.

20 minutes of scrubbing and nose pinching later...

"Eeeeeeep!" shrieked Hermione.

"What?" demanded three other voices.

"There's something alive in their." she squeaked, pointing at the wall. Sure enough, the small light given off by the flame showed a small lump scurrying up the wall.

The boys looked at their rags and edged away from the walls they were rubbing.

"I think revenge is in order." said Harry quietly.

"Harry, are you sure about this?" whispered Hermione furiously. Harry simply rolled his eyes and told her to relax.

It was 10:15 that same night, the foursome was peering over the corner at the door of Snape's office. Harry's plan was simple. He would spello-tape a bucket of water above Snape's door, the bottom of it prevented the door from opening (spello-tape was some stuff!) Snape would casually try to open the door, after seeing that it would not budge, he would either use force or his wand. The bucket falls, he gets drenched and angry. Har, har. However, after he dries himself the purple die hidden in the water takes effect for seven hours. As soon as classes end. All this required was a trip to the kitchens and a bit of magic on Harry's part.

After Harry finished his work, without incident, the Gryffindors quickly made their way towards Gryffindor tower.

The group crept along the second floor corridor, when they met their first problems. Filch talking with Mrs. Norris. Filch probably knew perfectly well that the first years were supposed to be in bed well over half an hour ago, so they had no reasonable excuse for still roaming the corridors.

'Mr. Norris is probably a very unhappy cat' thought Harry irritatedly as he shepherded his comrades into what he knew was an abandoned bathroom.

"See!" cried Hermione as soon as they were out of harm's way. "How close was that!"

"Close enough to shave a peach." said Harry while examining a fingernail, obviously unmoved.

Suddenly, voices emitted from the stalls. The group looked up to see someone step out of one.

"Fred!" exclaimed Ron.

"Oh, er hi guys." mumbled the Weasley oddly out of character, staring at Harry with bewilderment.

"Hey! When do we add ourselves?" called another voice from the stalls, most likely George.

"Um, coming!" replied Fred.

The four stared in the twins' direction in confusion until a young, by appearance, ghost appeared and started crying.

Harry went to bed that night slightly troubled.

nXn

A/N: Oh gawd, all of you probably hate me. I couldn't believe how many of you guys predicted Sirius to be caught there. No offense, it was my mistake for putting it in, but I can assure you... THERE WILL BE REMUS AND SIRIUS CONTACT IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE! Aw, now Ilet _that _slip.Wow, I can see you all wiggling in your seats. And about time, on my part. With all of those close calls on Harry's part, you're probably very irritated already. I've had this planned out for a long time so, bare with me, please. This wasn't exactly, supposed to be a Snape hate chapter but I guess it turned out that way...


	18. Gred and Forge's big mistake

The Dogfahter

Chapter 18

Disclaimer: See last chapter, no I don't think you should look at that one... the chapter before that... no that's not much good either...

nXn

The Snape prank was a great success. The Potions Master found it very hard to criticize a potion that had turned from pale pink to indigo, when he himself had turned from pale as parchment to magenta.

Saturday morning in the Great Hall was emptier than usual; it was the last Hogsmeade weekend before the holidays. Most of the elder years and staff lined up at the doors.

Harry decided it was a good day to visit Sirius. After telling his friends he was going to work on his homework, he made his way to the Entrance Hall, slipped onto the grounds .and quickly began his walk toward the forest.

Fred and George were giddy. This rarely happened, unless they were waiting for an exceptionally good prank to take place.

The two crouched in the cramped stall their cauldron resided in and examined an ancient text book. Fred snapped the book shut with a grin and looked at his brother. "It says that we can drink it today, the potion should be a light brown."

"Check." said George obediently.

"Its surface should have little waves."

"Check." chirped George happily.

"Okay, then its safe." said Fred, picking up two empty butter beer bottles and handing one to his partner. The two used a ladle to pour the contents of the cauldron up to the rim of the bottle.

"Here's to the reclaiming of the Marauders Map!" cried George dramatically.

The clinked their bottles and drained them.

Instantly, a faint red line appeared, leading out of the bathroom. The two grinned at each other, and followed the line. As they ran down the halls, no one seemed to notice the line but themselves.

They ran down the marble staircase and to the Entrance Hall. They quickly saw their guide turned to the outside. The twins sprinted across the hall.

Harry saw that there was no one else on the grounds and so placed the map into his back pocket.

The twins crossed the threshold and saw Harry crossing the snow-covered lawns.

"What do we do now?" asked George, the red line ended at Harry.

"It says that the object should come to-" suddenly, as if on cue, a piece of parchment began to fly towards them. It became level with their shoulders and hovered. Harry seemed to have not noticed and continued his journey. George tentatively turned it over, and let out a wail of triumph.

The red-heads decided to make a trip to the kitchen to celebrate what they called 'a reuniting of an old friend'.

After 3 butter beers, Fred said for the umpteenth time, "I knew Potter had it; he made up that rubbish about giving it to Dumbledore just to have it for himself!"

"Speaking of Potter..." began George, looking at the map, "Let's see what he's up to in the forest."

The brothers agreed on this and traced the little dot labeled Harry Potter reached the very edge of the map. The two let out a gasp.

"Merlin's Beard!" they cried in union.

Remus had passed, once again, on going to Hogsmeade. He slightly dreaded visiting the village outside of the school year, seeing it full of students would simply intensify his nostalgia. He was barely surviving at Hogwarts; he wondered how he would feel with that added to his list. Besides, when was a better time to start grading papers?

He was slowly making his way from the Great Hall to his office when he heard hurried footsteps coming from the direction of the kitchens. He looked up to see Fred and George Weasely running in his direction.

"Professor Lupin! Professor Lupin!" one cried in bewilderment. Remus was sorely tempted to raise an eyebrow. When were the brothers bewildered?

"Sirius Black! Forest! Harry Potter!" panted the other, stopping to catch his breath. Remus felt a giant knot form in his stomach.

"Explain." he said sternly.

"Harry Potter is with Sirius Black in a cave in the Forbidden Forest." said Fred quickly, watching his Professor for a reaction.

Remus felt as if he had the wind knocked out of him. "How did you find this out?" he demanded looking into space.

"See we have this map" began George weakly Remus' nostrils flared and he turned on the boys.

"Give it to me!" he roared. The twins exchanged glances and handed him a blank sheet of parchment.

"Well you see, you've got to say-" they began.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good!" muttered Remus. Lines appeared on the parchment like a spider web. Remus moved his eyes to the only cave in the forest. He felt the knot in his stomach tighten.

'Plan plan, need plan...' thought Remus desperately. 'Every teacher besides Dumbledore and Trelawney are at Hogsmeade... Trelawney would be a liability... Dumbledore is visiting his brother Aberforth today...today of all days... by the time I get down to the village, Harry could be dead.' He cringed as he realized his only option.

Remus sprinted towards the grounds.

10 minutes later...

Moony found himself in a familiar clearing. There was a small hill between two great trees. There was a large boulder in front of the hill. He magically swept the rock aside and was about to crawl through the tunnel revealed when he noticed that the twins had joined him.

"Stay here!" he ordered, if he could think straight he would have immediately sent them back to the castle to get help, but at the moment, thinking rationally was quite a feat on his part. "If you hear trouble, go back to the castle." The twins obediently nodded."

Meanwhile, Harry leaned against his usual spot in the cave, telling his godfather about the prank he pulled on Snape. Sirius started laughing, causing the butter beer he was drinking to come out of his nose. 'It wasn't _that_ funny' thought Harry, amused.

Remus approached the end of the tunnel and heard laughing. 'Laughing? ' He thought worriedly. 'Maybe it's worse than I thought... maybe Harry is confunded.'

Remus emerged into a large cavern. The first thing he saw was Sirius Black rolling on the ground and laughing himself silly.

Suddenly Black stopped and looked at him with horror.

"Moony." he croaked.

nXn

A/N: That was a piece of cwap... Does anyone understand Fred and George's potion? Well, it will be explained soon enough...Oh well, gotta run, my sister's gonna kill me with a fire poker and the garden hose because of the cliffy, ciao!


	19. The Wolf At His Finest

The Dogfather

Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I sold the rights to Harry Potter and world of to J.K.Rowling for two billion dollars... that's why the books are going down the drain...

nXn

Remus jumped in and jabbed his wand in Sirius' direction and suddenly stopped. He gave Black a long look. He was nothing like his wanted posters. He was shaven, his hair was pulled into a short ponytail and he wore muggle jeans and sweat shirt.

Everyone was quiet for the longest time, until Harry, not one for dramatics, broke the silence.

"We can explain everything." he said sheepishly. Remus rounded on him and blinked.

"You're not confunded." he said bluntly. Harry bit his lip as horror crossed his Professor's features. "Y-you've turned to the dark side!" he exclaimed bewilderedly.

"For heaven's sake!" cried Sirius. "Enough with the dramatics! I thought you were always the sensible one! You know perfectly well that the son of Lily and James Potter would never turn to the dark side, let alone do so at the age of eleven!"

Remus turned his attention back to Black. "Maybe under _your_ influence!" he snarled.

"Are you even going to listen to us?" asked Harry tiredly. "Or are you just going to poke my godfather to death with your wand and turn me in for association with the dark side?" The Gryffindor pulled his wand out of his pocket and handed it to the werewolf. "There, and he obviously doesn't have a wand so you have no reason to fear us."

"What am I supposed to be listening to?" asked Remus suspiciously, resting the tip of his wand against Black's temple.

'Well that was a dumb thing to say.' thought Harry, a bit peeved at the Professor's behavior.

"Why I haven't blown my godson to smithereens and sent his remains to Dumbledore in a little white envelope!" answered Sirius brightly.

Remus blinked and contemplated his options. 'What have I got to lose? Once they're done I can bound Black, bring him up to the castle, owl Dumbledore, he'll get what he deserves in no time, Harry can be put into his right mind' "Fine." he decided.

"Okay, I think this all started on October 25th, 1981." began Sirius. "James, Lily, _Pettigrew_" he spat out his name as if he'd accidentally swallowed something rotten. "and I were in the living room at Godric's Hollow. I presented my plan to exchange my Secret Keepership with Peter-"

"Hold it!" Remus cut in. "You're kidding me, right?"

"Well that's up to you to decide." said Sirius hotly. "Anyway, I thought it was the perfect bluff, no one would suspect _him_, pathetic little, weak, talent less thing like him to be chosen. But on Halloween night I went to check on Peter's hiding place, it was deserted but there was no sign of a struggle. I felt something wasn't right so I went to Godric's Hollow and well... so the next day I went out looking for Peter. I found and cornered him in a street in London; he shouted out that _I_ had betrayed Lily and James and all of that rubbish. So I pulled out my wand, wanting to curse him into oblivion, but he was quicker. He held a wand behind his back and killed everyone in a ten-foot radius of himself. Then he cut off his finger, and sped into the sewers as a rat." finished Sirius bitterly, staring hard at Remus.

Moony said nothing; his face was void of any expression. "Now Harry, can you tell an equally fantastic tale as to why you are sitting here?" he said calmly.

Harry glared at him. "I guess it all started on July 31, 1990." began Harry, imitating his godfather. "My family went to the pound and picked up this mutt. He led me into the forest near my home, transformed into a human, and told me his story, which I believed. So, this year he came to Hogwarts with me and has been hiding out here ever since, and if he wanted to kill me he had plenty of chances to strangle me in my sleep."

Rusty gears were grinding in Remus' mind. The stories fit, but did that necessarily mean they were true? He needed Dumbledore, and fast.

Remus turned to the mouth of the tunnel, still pointing his wand at Sirius. "Fred, George!" he called. "I nee- " but he was cut off as two blurs slid from said tunnel and mowed him down.

"Sorry!" they chorused, stepping off their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Suddenly the two stood up and found themselves face to face with Sirius Black. The twins paled but before they could to anything, Sirius grasped their hands and shook them brightly.

"I take it you're the Weasely twins? Nice to meet you, heard you somehow got hold of the Marauders map! I'm Padfoot by the way, Remus is Moony-" but he quieted as he saw the expression on his interrogator's face.

Before the brothers could completely register the information they just heard, Remus caught their attention.

"Go up to the castle, I take it you know where Dumbledore's office is? The password is 'Butter Pecan' If Dumbledore isn't there, wait, if he is tell him to come here immediately, with veritaserum. Do not talk to anyone else. Got that? Good. Now go"

The twins were gone in a flash, causing Harry to blink.

"Good, you've gathered the sense to get Dumbledore." said Sirius, stretching. "Maybe my head will be saved from the fate of being a cottage cheese stuffed bludger."

Remus said nothing and began to count off the seconds until Dumbledore showed up. He turned his attention to Harry, who was glaring at him. Lupin turned back to Sirius, who was now giving him a blank look.

"You don't believe us." he said airily.

Yet again, he didn't say anything, he wanted to, he wanted desperately to embrace Sirius and accept him as a brother again, but he wouldn't let himself fall for anything.

"How did you know we were here?" demanded Harry.

"The Map." he said vaguely, wishing Dumbledore would get there soon.

The godfather and godson blinked. Harry immediately shoved a hand into his back pocket and it returned empty.

"What? How did you have it!", the Gryffindor questioned furiously.

"The Weasely twins had it." the werewolf replied tersely.

Harry looked somewhat defeated. He slumped against the cave wall. Sirius soon joined him.

After what seemed like hours, a purple boot emerged from the tunnel. All eyes turned to see Albus Dumbledore, in the flesh.

There was no twinkle in his eye. Blue slowly met gray and emerald.

"Remus, would you please explain to me the events which occurred to form the present situation?" said the old wizard calmly.

Remus explained everything from when he stepped out of the Great Hall that morning until Dumbledore arrived in a low and quiet voice.

The headmaster nodded curtly and pulled out a glass vial of perfectly clear liquid from his magenta robes.

nXn

A/N: Urgh... that chapter wasn't too brilliant either, sorry people... in case anyone is confused, Remus does not completely trust them yet, but as said, he will not turn Sirius' head into a cottage cheese filled bludger... Harry is pretty pissed at Fred and George, more about them later...


	20. At four, Spoken in three

The Dogfather

Chapter 20

Disclaimer: And then, on the eighth day, God created the rights to Harry Potter and gave them to J.K. Rowling.

nXn

Sirius suddenly felt very small.

His head began to squeeze itself until it had the circumference of a golf ball.

"Who are you?" called a voice.

"Sirius Black." he called back, without deciding to.

The voice continued to ask questions, normal ones, then it questioned about people called 'Lily and James Potter' and 'Peter Pettigrew' he honestly had no idea who they were, yet he answered all the same.

Suddenly, his head released its hold, much like popping one's ears on an airplane. His face was drenched in cold sweat. He looked around; suddenly his current position came rushing back to him.

Sirius looked to Remus; he was sitting up straight, looking at him wide-eyed.

"Aw... I need an aspirin." he moaned, burying his head into his arms.

"What's an aspirin?" inquired Remus, slightly amused. 'He's not a murderer. He's not a murderer' pounded in his mind.

"Muggle medicine." explained Harry quietly, waiting to see if Dumbledore would interrogate him as well, seeing how his godfather so dearly _enjoyed_ the side affects, also enjoying the neutral tone of the atmosphere.

"Here have a lemon drop." offered Dumbledore, his eyes regaining their familiar twinkle.

Harry and Remus snorted, but once Sirius accepted the sweet, he declared full recovery.

"Phoenix tears." supplied Dumbledore with a small smile.

Remus pulled Sirius into a manly hug, and whispered 'Welcome back Padfoot.'

Harry watched the scene with delight, no more hiding, no more lying. He hated making up those stories to Moony, it made him feel as if Remus was the enemy, which of course he wasn't.

"Er... Professor Dumbledore." asked Harry quietly. "What do we do now?"

"Harry, the only people, save many death eaters and Pettigrew himself, who know of Sirius' innocence, are you, Remus, myself and I suspect the Weasely twins-" suddenly, Fred and George came tumbling down the tunnel again. "And sadly, I believe it may stay around that number for quite a long time, until we have some firm proof." he finished gravely.

Harry sighed. He had spoken too soon.

He suddenly felt anger boil up inside him. All Fudge cared about was keeping office. If Sirius was caught, he would most likely get thrown right back to the dementors. People would wipe their foreheads say 'thank god that's over with.' and move on, not giving him a second thought, as long as the magical community saw some progress, Fudge could keep the cozy title of minister.

Heaving another sigh, Harry made his way over to Fred and George; there were quite a few things to be sorted out.

"Er hi Harry!" said Fred, uncomfortably.

"Um, Sorry mate." added George.

"For invading your privacy."

"And such."

"Er yeah, whatever." mumbled Harry tiredly. "So how did you get the Map?"

The twins exchanged looks and went into a terribly long explanation about making a tracking potion that was connected solely to them, so that the map and they were inseparable, if this was against their will and they would always be able to find it if it was not returned.

Harry decided to finally lay the big bomb on them.

"You know the Marauders? Moony Wormtail Padfoot and Prongs?" said, Harry, a grin curving across his face.

"Yeah what about them?" asked Fred slowly.

Harry gave them ten seconds to figure it out, before pronouncing them both officially dense.

"May I present to you." he began using an announcer's voice, gesturing towards his godfather and Remus, the former was being slapped upside the head the head for making fun of the other's position. "The one and only Moony and Padfoot hard at work!"

Fred and George's jaws dropped.

"You're kidding"

"Our idols."

"Our gods"

The two men in question simultaneously raised eyebrows.

Suddenly Sirius took advantage of the situation; he flung himself into a power stance, clutching his heart dramatically. "How dare you mere mortals stare at my beautiful face!" he screeched. Fred and George immediately looked away "How dare you not observe in awe my beautiful face." he added.

Remus, Harry, and Sirius burst out laughing as the twins turned around bewilderedly.

"Mr. Moony would like to comment to Mr. Padfoot that the beauty equivalent of his facial features is that of a garden gnome." said Remus with a small bow.

"Mr. Padfoot would like to inquire to Mr. Moony as to the last time in which he gazed at a mirror, as well as whose bright idea was it to speak in third person."

"Mr. Moony would like to point out that Mr. Padfoot deserves full credit." replied Remus cheekily.

"Mr. Prongs Jr. would like to point out that Messer. Moony and Padfoot are both dunderheads and wonders if the face complexion equivalent to that of a plum is a sign of good health?" cut in Harry, gesturing to the Weaselys who had indeed turned plum red, in delight of course.

Sirius made a low bow toward the brothers, "Mr. Padfoot would like to welcome Messer. Fred and George Weasely to his world."

"Mr. Prongs Jr. would like to recommend leaving all pointy objects and anything related to desert pastries outside of the vehicle and not permit any child able to be mistaken as a stray niffler aboard."

"Mr. Moony would like warn Mr. Padfoot that his actions may anger the sushi gods."

"Mr. Padfoot inquires as to what has become of his aluminum foil beanie."

Fred and George looked like Christmas and the one after, and the one after that had all come early.

Harry gazed contently as his godfather argued with Remus over the importance of stapling orange peals.

'Four down, the rest of the wizarding world to go.' he thought wistfully.

"Why not 'The rest of the wizarding world up, four down?'" inquired a quiet voice beside him.

Harry jumped to see Dumbledore standing next to him.

The Gryffindor shrugged, deciding that what he had at the moment would do just fine.

nXn

A/N: Ah, there some Dumbledore logic for ya... yea, not too impressive... I can't believe I've broke three hundred... It's a dweem come twue! I also can't believe how many new reviewers I got for last chapter... as soon as I get to the confrontations... I'm also surprised to see how many people liked the 'cottage cheese stuffed bludger' line. Well, how's that for a piece of fluff? Yep... not much contribution to the plot, but it was fun to type. Er, yeah, my version of veritaserum varies quite a bit...

Thanks for the reviews people!

RainynDawn: I reviewed ch. 19 of A tale of two werewolves by sennica01 , there is at least a paragraph in it about why I'm afraid of mimes and clowns. Just thought it'd be enlightening to read... if you survive that mime of course...: shivers:. I am glad at least _someone_ else sees past the cheap make-up and plastic nose.


	21. Holiday Fun

The Dogfather

Chapter 21

Disclaimer: No! You can't make me say anything against my will:voice calls over loudspeaker: Um... J.K. Rowling owns everything.

nXn

Soon Harry and co. returned to their normal routine, with slight changes.

Fred and George's favorite class quickly became Defense against the Dark Arts. Care to guess?

Sirius moved into the castle into hidden quarters with doors leading to Remus and Dumbledore's rooms.

Harry's pranks instantly became more extravagant with the help of the twins.

And, of course, Harry began spending more time with Remus.

The two sat conversing in the courtyard during break on one of the stone benches. It was the last day of classes before the holidays, so Remus was discussing Harry's plans. He drank hot cocoa from a silver painted, to confuse any suspicious students, goblet.

Harry explained to him that he would be staying at the castle, his family was going skiing, an activity which Harry despised.

"Great, that means you, Padfoot, and I can ...have you chosen your topic for the term essay?" he instantly changed the subject as Hermione Granger approached.

"Hi Professor." greeted the Gryffindor, her eyes lingered briefly on his goblet, which he took a sip from.

Remus returned her greeting and gave her a thoughtful look.

"It's not real silver." he said quietly, receiving a rather taken aback look from Hermione.

"Excuse me?" she said politely. Harry was equally surprised by Moony's actions.

"I know that you are aware of my... condition, you _are_ the most clever witch in your year, after all, and Professor Snape was not very... careful with the knowledge." replied the Werewolf conversationally.

Suddenly Harry snapped up and checked his watch.

"I'd cover your ears if I were you." said Harry quietly, doing so.

As soon as the words left his mouth, there was a blast from the opposite end of the courtyard, where a group of Slytherins had accumulated.

A stench immediately flooded the area, causing people to disperse like pigeons; the Slytherins were also covered in what appeared to be stink sap.

Harry waved to the twins, who were celebrating behind a column.

"So what are you doing for the holidays Hermione?" he asked brightly, returning to the conversation as if nothing had occurred.

Remus looked amused and chuckled slightly, much to the distaste of Hermione who blinked, aghast at the thought of a teacher laughing at a prank.

"I'm going to ski with my parents." she said slowly.

"My family is doing the same, but I prefer to stay at Hogwarts, according to my sister I'm allergic to any elevated land covered in snow." he said.

Suddenly, two globs of snow hit Harry and Remus in the back of their heads.

"Bulls eye!" cried two voices in union.

Fred and George Weasely appeared on either side of Harry and Remus.

"Did you see that? That was pure beauty! George used a strengthening on the stink sap, they won't be able to get it off for at least a week!" informed Fred to the two.

Hermione looked expectantly to Professor Lupin, waiting for him to say something disapproving, however he looked interested.

"Did you use dung bombs? They're not that powerful...I thought I felt some teeth rattle."

The brothers simultaneously winked.

"That is our secret." they chorused.

"But Harry did help a bit." said Fred vaguely.

"Yeah I s'pose Weasely and Potter's Wizard Wheezes doesn't have the same ring to it?" remarked Harry.

Suddenly the twins locked eyes over Remus and Harry.

"Weasely Wizard Wheezes..."

"I can see it now..."

"But aren't you looking at me?"

"Perhaps."

"However, I don't like the idea of you two terrorizing innocent Slytherins." reprimanded Remus slightly, finally sounding teacher-like, much to Hermione's approval. .

"We were provoked!" exclaimed Fred, looking offended.

Remus cocked an eyebrow "How so?"

"The Slytherins replaced all of the Gryffindor names in the trophy room with 'Mudblood Lover'" informed Fred with a huff.

Moony sighed. "I think it's time to introduce to you two to the Marauders Code."

The twins look excited.

"The Marauders code?"

"It was something I tried to enforce in second year, however my companions soon became bored and abandoned it after a couple of weeks." he elaborated. "Meet me tonight in my office and I'll explain it."

The brothers gave him vigorous nods.

"Also, you did one thing wrong." added the Professor with an evil smile. "You picked a snow ball fight with Remus John Lupin."

Thank Merlin the bell rang.

Harry spent most of his holidays either playing wizard chess matches with Ron, which he was quite terrible at, sneaking into the Slytherin common room in the dead of night or having snowball fights with Fred and George, or having Tea with Remus and Sirius. after interrogation, Moony explained that he remarked upon his lycanthropy to Hermione because she had been casting him odd glances since September and it was annoying him to no end.

It quickly became the best Christmas Harry had ever had. At home, the high light of the holidays was that you were able to sleep late, that was about it.

Christmas day broke bright and early. Harry sat up to see a small pile of parcels at the foot of his bed.

He eagerly crawled forward to open them; a rustling of wrapping paper told him that Ron was awake as well.

He received a box of Chocolate Frogs from Hermione, a pair of orange Chudley Cannon socks, from Ron, The Lord of the Rings book series from his parents (to compare fact and fantasy as they said).

From Remus and Sirius he received what appeared to be a Snape voodoo doll, which he hid in his trunk to avoid question from Ron. He had given them each a box of Honeydukes' finest chocolate.

There was also a suspicious package from Fred and George, which he left aside. Finally there was one parcel left.

He unwrapped it to reveal a silver material and a note. It read in loopy handwriting:

Your father left this in my possession before he died.

It is time it was returned to you.

Use it well.

A Very Merry Christmas to you,

A. P. W. B. Dumbledore.

Harry realized it must have been very hard for the old man to sign his name, he usually preferred to be mysterious, but he probably knew full well that Harry would know who his father had left whatever it was to.

The Gryffindor picked up the material and saw that it flowed like water. He found that it was a cloak of some sort. It dawned on him.

'Fred and George are going to get a kick out of this' he thought, hiding the cloak in his trunk, he wouldn't show Ron just yet.

Christmas tea and dinner was quite an affair. Harry encountered for the first time, wizards crackers He was mildly amused to find Dumbledore cracking some of the muggle ones that Harry had given him, as a joke. But then realized that that was just the sort of thing he would do.

Harry found that he enjoyed the wizard crackers ten times more than the muggle ones, which one usually received a paper crown and plastic toy from. Hagrid, the groundskeeper, called for more wine until he kissed Professor McGonagall on the cheek, who, to everyone's amazement, giggled and blushed. The Gryffindor also took this time to practice his Snape voodoo doll. It didn't take too much effect, but each time he stabbed the Potions Master's leg with a fork, he saw the real one twitch slightly. He smiled evilly and reminded himself to bring it to class.

Harry exited the great hall with non-explodable luminous balloons, a grow-your-own-warts kit and his own wizard chess set.

He and his companions were shocked to find a shaggy black dog chasing Mrs. Norris across the Entrance Hall, and being chased by an angry Filch.

Harry went to sleep that night content but woke up with a start when he remembered what was in his trunk. He scrambled to the foot of his bed and wrenched open the trunk.

He let the silver material flow through his fingers and flung the cloak over himself. He excitedly looked down and found nothing.

'what to do, what to do?' he asked himself, then grinned and embarked on something he had dreamed of from the beginning of the school year.

Thirty minutes later Harry returned to his dormitory feeling accomplished. He had pranked Fred and George Weasely. He had cast the body –bind curse and turned their hair pink.

He had tried to prank the brothers during September but learned the hard way that it was a very risky plan. This could also be considered revenge for stealing the map.

After the Gryffindor calmed down, he thought 'You can explore the whole castle and you're settling for the next-door dormitory?'

Five minutes later he was heading out the portrait hole.

nXn

A/N: My reign of short and pointless chapters is over! Hurrah! Well, maybe this chapter didn't have much of a point...


	22. The Slytherin Spirit

The Dogfather

Chapter 22

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns everything.

nXn

Everyone was somber to return to classes after the holidays.

Harry decided to break the gloom of double potions by putting his handy voodoo doll to work.

The potions master came bursting through the door, his robes billowing behind him; however, the effect was somehow lost when he stumbled slightly.

The Slytherins burst out laughing, and the Gryffindors attempted to suppress giggles. Snape pretended as if nothing had happened and began to write the instructions for the day's work on the blackboard, although he kept dropping the chalk.

Ten minutes later, the class was hard at work. The professor glided between the rows, observing the students' progress. Harry kept one eye on his teacher, and one on the roots he was chopping.

He glanced up at the board and read 'Add two inches of snake skin, best used fresh.' Harry raised an eyebrow at the line and his eyes landed on the tub of writhing garden snakes on the desk he and Ron were sharing.

Ron was grasping one of the reptiles in one hand, and a knife in the other, obviously intent on peeling the creature like a potato. Harry rolled his eyes, grabbed one of the snakes himself and pulled out his wand. He nudged Ron, indicating to follow him, when he heard a voice.

'...pleasse... don't hurt me human...'

Harry flinched, deciding he imagined it, he returned to the task at hand.

'... nooo... I have a nessst... and a mate...'

The Gryffindor realized, with panic, that the voice was coming from his hand.

'The Snake's talking to me...' he thought slowly, 'wait, this has happened before.'

His memory flashed back to a primary school field trip to the zoo.

"I'm not going to hurt you." he said to the reptile, which he was finding more and more trouble to hang on to.

"You ssspeak my tongue."

"I guess so."

"Don't hurt me human." the creature hissed, almost pleadingly.

"I said I wouldn't - wait..." his eyes landed on the line 'insert head and liver of snake' " sorry..."

"You humans are all the sssame."

"Tell you what; is there anyone in that tub that you don't like?"

But before he got an answer, he was suddenly aware that the whole class was watching him.

He looked to his right and saw that Ron had turned pale.

"What." he asked slowly, noticing that even Malfoy and Snape were giving him looks of shock.

"Class dismissed." said Snape in a voice that held...concern? No way.

Harry dropped the snake and packed up his bag, wondering what was going on.

As soon as he stepped out of the room, Ron and Hermione took him by the hand and lead him forcefully to an abandoned classroom.

"You're a parslemouth!" exclaimed Ron in disbelief.

"A what now?" asked Harry, cocking an eyebrow.

"Someone who can speak to snakes." informed Hermione nervously, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "But it's extremely rare... and most common among dark wizards."

Harry spent the rest of his first week back ignoring fearful looks from his peers.

He had spoken to Remus and Sirius about it, who both shared the same disbelief. However, Remus remarked wisely that it didn't mean Harry was evil, and that it was simply a coincidence that it was commonly regarded as a dark talent. Sirius agreed but was still a bit shaken.

Fred and George were actually quite amused; pink streaks were only beginning to fade from their hair. They spent the rest of the week jumping dramatically out of Harry's way whenever he approached.

Ron and Hermione hadn't quite joined the norm, but were a tad at unease in Harry's presence, but soon everything slowly grinded back to normal. Save Slytherins spontaneously stopping in the hall to bow to Harry and then walk away, cackling madly.

"It'll stop soon enough." remarked Ron casually, watching a group of sixth years retreat after actually _kissing_ Harry's trainers.

"Right." replied the Gryffindor gloomily.

Malfoy and his gang had gone as far as to present to him a pair of Slytherin robes accompanied with a note reading 'Since you've decided to show your true colors'.

The three found it utterly hilarious. Harry, however, did not, and cursed them into oblivion.

Twenty-five docked points and a trip to Professor McGonagall's office later, Harry found himself planning revenge. Not just a prank leaving nothing but minor discomfort and humiliation behind, something that would make Slytherin lose points as well.

Harry had never felt more serious about a prank before. He could usually plan and perform everything within one midnight outing. However, he had never faced the problem of getting people to do what he needed. So far, the Gryffindor only had a piece of parchment with three terms connected with lines: Malfoy, out of bed, Filch.

He went straight to the experts.

"Ah, Harry, you've come to the right place." announced Sirius proudly.

Harry grinned and slumped onto the sofa. He had presented his predicament to Moony, Sirius, and Fred and George, who were both present.

They were in Sirius' quarters, in order to obtain the most privacy. Remus quietly sipped cocoa from an armchair, preferring to observe rather than participate because of his status of teacher.

Harry rubbed his hands together in glee as the plan began to take form.

It was so simple; he didn't see why he hadn't thought of it before.

Fred and George would convince the house elves to spike Malfoy's pumpkin juice with a sleeping draught, which Sirius would time.

Malfoy would walk out of the Great hall as if everything was normal; there was no point in making him collapse in the entrance hall after dinner, someone would be sure to notice.

Then came the part Harry was dreading slightly. He would use the invisibility cloak, which his godfather and professor were ecstatic to be reunited with, to lure Malfoy away from where most of the school population resided at that time, yet a sure location on Filch's rounds, until the sleeping potion took effect. And finally, fill the Slytherin's robes with almost everything on Filch's banned list.

Remus watched them with almost a pained expression. "You do realize that I _have _to take at least ten points from Gryffindor for this..." he said quietly, stirring his cocoa slowly.

Fred and George instantly flung themselves onto their knees into a begging position.

"Oh, come on Moony..." pleaded George, using puppy dog eyes.

"Please..."

"Just once..."

"They deserve it..."

Remus simply shook his head and retreated to his own quarters, leaving his companions to curse him.

Harry spotted Malfoy's silvery blonde head exit the Slytherin table and hurriedly left his own, receiving odd glances from Ron and Hermione.

He reached the Entrance Hall and made a bee-line for the nearest broom closet. A few moments later, the door opened and closed, seemingly by itself.

Harry hurried as quietly as he could ahead of Malfoy. Once he was a good distance in front, he carefully slid against the walls and followed the Slytherin's route.

Malfoy finally stopped somewhere in the dungeons. Harry guessed this was this cue.

A pebble was suddenly hurled out of nowhere towards the pureblood's bleach-blonde head. Malfoy instantly snapped his head towards the direction it came from. Harry bit his lip and continued this act until the other boy began to edge near him.

The Gryffindor crept away from what he assumed was the Slytherin common room. Three corridors later, Malfoy began to feel drowsy. Harry bit his lip as his enemy slumped onto the floor. He hastily stooped down and pulled out of his pockets, dungbombs, stink pellets, fire works, or every Zonko's product in creation, courtesy of the Weasely twins of course. The boy then crammed as much as he could into the Slytherin's robes.

Harry was in the act of stuffing a nose-biting tea cup into Malfoy's chest pocket when he felt a piece of folded parchment. Out of curiosity, he hesitantly retrieved the parchment and unfolded it. His eyes glanced down to the bottom of the page, it was signed Lucius Malfoy.

Gathering that it was a letter, the Gryffindor caught the line 'This will cease some of our worries, and aid in several ways..." Suddenly, Harry was filled with a strange yet immense sense of foreboding. He immediately placed the letter safely back into its rightful position and walked as quickly as he could, away from Malfoy's dormant body.

Harry woke up the next morning awful.

nXn

A/N: Eep. Sorry for the wait, I'm not too pleased with this chapter, sorry people... There is much more behind Harry's 'sense of foreboding' it's not just a corny way to end the chapter... I am aware that normally Snape would instruct the chalk to write for him, but he wanted to face the blackboard to avoid contact with the students. Poor Severus. I've planned how to end, or lead to the end of the story, so the chapters may be a bit hectic until the climax...


	23. A bad case of

The Dogfather

Chapter 23

Disclaimer: What do you mean... what's that fancy paper say... you mean I can't get money for the Harry Potter toothbrush... why does J.K.Rowling get it? No fair.

nXn

Harry stared blankly at the canopy above him.

He could immediately tell that it would not be one of his best days. The Gryffindor felt as if his head was stuck in a warm thick invisible cloud, swirling in and out of his head through his eyes, ears and nose, grasping and releasing his brain as it moved, creating a hell of a head ache.

He buried his head in his pillow, hoping to muffle the sensation and cease his dizziness, but the cloud seemed angry to have no out let and so his mind suffered a long pang of tension until Harry dropped it.

The Gryffindor attempted to steadily exit the tower, trying to ignore that his adam's apple had become heavier than usual and was throbbing rather unpleasantly.

After falling down a flight of marble staircases and upsetting a few portraits, Harry decided to that a trip to the hospital wing was in order to cure his... erm... whatever.

"Potter I honestly can't find anything wrong with you." snapped Madam Pomphrey for the third time. Harry gave her a blank look and blinked slowly.

Nothing? The Gryffindor shifted uncomfortably. He was pretty sure that he was feeling the worst he'd ever in his life. After demanding at least a headache remedy, Harry headed down to the Great Hall for a last-minute breakfast before classes started, barely acknowledging the merrily buzzing crowd of his classmates that had accumulated around the Slytherin hourglass.

January quickly faded into February and Harry's attention turned to the nearest quiditch match. Wood did not give a flying rat's head that they had hammered Slytherin to a pulp; he was working the team harder than ever and, in Harry's opinion, had become just a tad paranoid.

"Merlin's beard! It's only Hufflepuff!" exclaimed George furiously after Wood presented his third practice schedule that month.

The Keeper gave his beater a death glare and for some reason George was afraid of his own shadow for the next few days.

However, Harry's bothersome headache had still not parted. After a week or so the Gryffindor had become used to it and it now had settled to a meticulous throb. Although, he was afraid that it was steadily worsening.

Harry had returned to the hospital wing several times but Madam Pomphrey still insisted that he was perfectly health.

With every Potion's class, Snape slowly began to lose his smugness but Harry's voodoo doll's magic also began to wear off. The Gryffindor sighed as he prodded the pseudo-Snape with the point of his quill. Well, all good things had to eventually come to an end.

Malfoy's ego had deflated just a tad after his confrontation with Filch. However, soon enough he was claiming that it was sabotage from other houses because they knew Slytherin would win the house cup. Harry got a laugh out of that one. Even though Malfoy wasn't a player, he acted as if he owned the team. Harry on several occasions had to remind the Slytherin of his position as manager, a.k.a. water boy.

Malfoy simply sneered and said he was jealous. Harry sorely wished to have a voodoo doll of him as well.

The match against Hufflepuff finally arrived and Harry found himself a bit over-confident.

Wood presented his usual pep talk, inputting the words 'or else' here and there, over all, reminding Harry of a bull that stepped on a thorn. This may have had something to do with the fact that Fred and George had conjured horns over the head of their captain.

The team marched onto the pitch and went through the usual formalities. Madam Hooch released the balls and the match was on.

Harry assumed his usual position, about twenty feet above the rest of the game. The Hufflepuff seeker and captain, a tall and handsome fourth year named Cedric Diggory, was at the opposite end of the pitch, flying from a well-aimed bludger hit by Fred Weasely.

Angelina Johnson had the quaffle; the chaser sped toward the southern goal post and made a forceful movement toward the right hoop, a fake. The Keeper dove toward it anyway, only to crash into the golden ring, Angelina easily tipped the ball into the middle hoop. The stands erupted into cheers and the team congratulated their chaser, except Wood who stuck to his post like glue, suspiciously eyeing a Hufflepuff chaser who appeared to be picking their nose.

Harry winced as he noticed the Hufflepuff keeper's nose was now bloodied and a bit off-center. "Keepers have bad luck at this school." he remarked thoughtfully to himself.

Ten minutes and fifty points to Gryffindor later and there was still no sign of the snitch. Harry decided to lighten things up a bit and so racked his brain for a move he'd read about in _Quiditch Through The Ages_.

The Gryffindor Seeker suddenly went rigid and concentrated on the ground. He ceased his hover and began a rapid descent. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Diggory follow him. Everyone had stopped playing, save Katie Bell whom Wood had yelled at to score while the Keeper was distracted.

Barely a couple of feet from the ground, Harry pulled out of his dive, but it was too late for Diggory's larger body. There was an unpleasant _crunch_. Harry rose triumphantly above his opponent's body. Everyone was stunned. Wood looked at his seeker with a mixture of awe and delight. Harry grinned, but suddenly his head suffered a violent pang of pain and then darkness.

Harry woke up to find himself in the hospital wing; standing next to his bed was none other than Kingsley Shacklebolt.

His swearing would have impressed Peeves.

nXn

A/N: Dun, dun, dun. Sorry for the wait and the shortness... my internet's been down because there's been a thunderstorm almost every day this week, and school starts on Thursday for me, so there will most likely be less frequent updates. Erm, I know that there is no water boy in HP, but in this case the Slytherins made up a position in order to shut Malfoy up. The next few chapters will (hopefully) be MUCH better than this one.


	24. Chapter 24

The Dogfather

Chapter 24

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I would have gotten everything right the first time... no offense J.K.R.

nXn

"Hello Harry, you may have heard of me, my name is Kingsley Shacklebolt, I'm an Auror, head of the search for Sirius Black."

Harry felt as if his body was sinking further and further into his cot. He slightly nodded his acknowledgment and waited.

"Well, you see, there's been a bit of a mix-up, the Ministry got an anonymous tip saying that you and someone named Remus Lupin have been hiding Sirius Black in Hogwarts, we would like to clear this up, and go through the usual procedure."

Harry had practically disappeared into the spotless white sheets by now. "procedure?" he almost squeaked.

"Yes, veritaserum, check for imperius or confundus charm, that's all." explained Shacklebolt.

Harry watched in horror as the auror placed a clear glass vial on his bed-side table.

"Just drink the potion and the matter will be dealt with."

Harry gulped and drained the vial.

About ten minutes earlier...

Remus sighed and rubbed his temples in frustration for the third time in the past half hour.

Seventh year Hufflepuff and Slytherin was not exactly the ideal way to begin the day.

The Hufflepuffs grew beat-red in determination and frustration while the Slytherins leaned back in their chairs, sneering at their efforts to complete the work, while ignoring their own, occasionally lighting another's robes on fire, the poor student would not notice until he or she began to wonder why he smelt burnt hair.

Moony had already docked twenty points from Slytherin and five from Hufflepuff, for a nastily placed jelly legs hex.

In short, it was more like dueling club rather than Defense.

The Professor was about to relieve a poor Hufflepuff of the cloud of bats surrounding his head, when there was a fierce knock on the door. He sighed and turned toward it, hoping it was _anything_ that would relieve him of his duties, even a troll loose on the grounds, when the door burst open,

Then everything went black.

Kingsley Shacklebolt observed the eleven-year old in horror.

Harry waited for everything to come crashing down. he had passed the imperius and confundus test and had admitted to aiding Sirius Black under Veritaserum .

Shacklebolt waved his wand into a cross, still gazing in disbelief at Harry. Suddenly, what looked like twenty aurors had poured into the wing. Harry bit his lip and closed his eyes shut.

"He says Black's in a room off of Lupin's quarters, get to it and bring the team." commanded Shacklebolt's deep voice.

"The password is 'I solemnly swear I'm up to no good.'." said Harry, deciding to make matters easier, sorely wishing he could give Sirius some word of warning before he was bombarded.

"What about the kid?" asked another auror.

"Stupefy"

Harry woke up to find himself staring at the groggy outline of a cement ceiling.

He analyzed his environment and found that he was lying on a hard floor and everything seemed grey. He straightened himself into a sitting position and stretched out his aching back. He finally found, to his horror that he was in a 12 by eleven foot jail cell.

He looked the cell on his right to find Remus performing similar actions, and to his right, Sirius.

"Holy crap, hat the hell is going on here? The last thing I remember I was finishing a mug of coffee and playing solitaire." exclaimed Sirius, still wearing a t-shirt and flannel pajama bottoms. The jumpy auror in the hallway flinched at his actions and thrust his wand before himself in a trembling hand, waking up another who was dozing against the cement wall.

"Yeah, I was in the middle of a class." said Remus.

"Wait... did Shacklebolt talk to you?" asked Harry nervously. Remus gave him a blank stare. Harry bit his lip again, guessing that the aurors didn't give him a second thought, considering his condition. "Erm... I woke up in the hospital wing and Kingsley Shacklebolt was standing over me and..."

"and" said Sirius and Remus in union.

"and he said that the Ministry got an anonymous tip saying that me and Remus were helping Sirius and he cocked out the Veritaserum and everything went down hill from there." finished Harry quickly.

The two let this sink in.

"What the hell are we going to do..." said Sirius, breaking the silence..

"You can say that again." groaned Remus, flopping onto his cot.

"... I'm claustrophobic." finished Padfoot.

Harry gave a bitter laugh and followed Remus. "This is one for the record books, eleven years old and I might be going to Azkaban."

The two aurors were exchanging awkward looks.

"Is it just me or is everything...grey..." remarked Sirius slowly rotating his head. "Oy, do any of you two know what day it is?"

The two aurors jumped at being addressed and eyed him apprehensively. "The 20th." said one uneasily.

"Okay, so we've been out for two days? And also, does anyone have any clue how I fell off my broom." asked Harry, suddenly realizing he didn't have a headache anymore. .

Remus shifted uneasily. "Um, yeah, about that, well, Dumbledore found traces of some sort of Dark magic about you and relieved it..."

Harry thought about when he'd gotten it ... right after pranking Malfoy... suddenly the words, _'This will cease some of our worries, and aid in several ways' _

"Malfoy! Lucius Malfoy!" exclaimed Harry suddenly.

"What about him?" asked Sirius cocking an eyebrow.

"He tipped off the Ministry!" explained Harry frantically. "Remember, Pettigrew ran off the train- crap! He and Malfoy are rounding up the death eaters!"

The three thought about this for a moment until they were interrupted by a cough. They looked to see that Cornelious Fudge, Kingsley Shacklebolt, an older Auror with a scarred face and nose that was missing a chunk, a wizard with a mane of tawny hair and yellow eyes a witch with long brown hair and another wizard with a tooth brush moustache and a dignified expression that reminded Harry strongly of Percy.

Harry looked to his left and saw that his godfather was looking at this wizard with loathing.

"Black." said the wizard shortly.

"Crouch."

"What's up with them?" muttered Harry to Remus.

"Erm, I think Crouch sent Sirius to Azkaban... without a trial." replied Moony.

"What! What kind of legal system is that!" exclaimed Harry angrily.

Cornelious Fudge cleared his throat loudly.

"What do you want?" said Sirius bitterly.

"The Wizegnot has voted to give you three a trial." said Fudge in a voice that clearly stated that he did not agree with it.

"I took you a _vote_ to decide that? You were going to send an innocent man to Azkaban _again_?" growled Harry angrily.

"Erm... Harry..." said Remus awkwardly. "Not exactly the best time."

"Innocent!" exclaimed Fudge and the brown haired auror with a laugh.

"You're surly joking?" said Fudge.

"You have know idea how much I hate you right now." hissed Harry.

Fudge raised an eyebrow and stepped back.

"You know, you look like a defeated turtle when you do that." remarked Sirius thoughtfully.

"Black, you are not in the position to make comments." growled the scarred auror.

"Hey Mad-eye! Long-time no see! How's it been in the department?" greeted Sirius brightly.

"Padfoot, shut up." groaned Remus.

"Hey, might as well make the best of the situation." he mumbled before facing the Aurors again. "Proceed."

"Are you prepared to be interrogated under the influence of Veritaserum?"

And so, the formalities continued. Amelia Bones had seen many odd things in her career in the ministry, such as Bartemous Crouch turning four different shades of purple in under three seconds when demoted to assistant, at the moment there was a cozy vacancy in the department of international magical cooperation with his name on it, a pair of vampires, who were applying for prescriptions of blood, after eating a smidge of garlic in the ministry cafeteria, attempted to cease the fire with holy water, and when a warlock mixed up a bottle of floo powder with a vial of powdered mongoose tail, the floo network was shut down for at least an hour, however, this had to be the strangest.

Black was completely calm throughout the conversation, save sending glares at Crouch every now and then, and even made fun of the minister. Potter was simply annoyed, mentioning something about sending innocent people to Azkaban once in a while and the werewolf, Lupin, just rolled his eyes at Black's behavior and occasionally questioned the officials.

"Are we quite done yet? Merlin's beard, are you trying to find some way out of it?" muttered a disgruntled Sirius an hour later.

Cornelious Fudge exchanged looks with the brown-haired auror, clearly stating that was exactly what they intended.

"Well, actually we are finished." said Bones pulling out a scroll from her robes pocket.

Fudge, Crouch and the unnamed auror sped out of sight within a blink of an eye.

"Well that was a fun-filled experience filled with familiar faces!" remarked Sirius in mock cheer.

"How can you be sarcastic in a time like this?" exclaimed Harry helplessly.

"Years of experiences." he replied gravely. "Besides why not raise a few eyebrows while you're still in some-what neutral territory?"

"You're impossible Padfoot." remarked Remus with yet another roll of his eyes.

Amelia watched the three thoughtfully. They definitely did not seem like evil Death Eaters and their young apprentice.

She was anxious to Judge the trial the next day. She was beginning to leave when Black called, "Oh yeah, thanks for kicking Crouch of his throne, his ego probably took a bit of a beating."

Amelia grinned slightly, imagining how Barty would react to these words, "And he didn't take it too well either."

Finally only Shacklebolt and Moody remained.

Twenty minutes later...

"I spy... something... grey!" said Sirius.

Everyone including the aurors rolled their eyes at this.

Moody's magical eye suddenly swiveled toward the end of the corridor. "Potter, you've got visitors."

Harry looked up to see three people ender his line of sight.

He let out what sounded like a squeak and went rigid against the wall. Remus sent the group a confused look and noticed that Sirius was biting his lip.

"Erm... what's the problem?" asked Remus timidly.

"They're his family." said Sirius bluntly.

"Hi mum... hi dad... Kate." mumbled Harry shifting nervously,

"Harry, what's going on here?" asked his father, eyeing Remus and Sirius who were observing the scene in interest.

"Oh, hello, I'm Remus Lupin, I was friends of... erm... awkward..." mumbled Remus helplessly.

"Aw, don't worry Moony, we all know it's that time of month for you." said Sirius in mock sympathy.

"Hey, I've still got a week, besides I wouldn't be talking, Mr. Claustrophobia." growled Remus bitterly.

"That's right... small spaces small spaces..."

Harry's family was looking more and more bewildered by the second.

The boy heaved a sigh and said very quickly, "This nutter over here is Remus my defense against the dark arts teacher and this nutter over here is Sirius my godfather."

The three gave Harry a blank stare.

"Nice to meet you?" tried Sirius weakly.

"What's defense against the dark arts?"

"You have a _godfather_?"

"And does that explain why you're sitting in a jail cell at the age of _eleven_!" cried his mother.

"What didn't get the memo?" said Sirius while Harry scratched his neck in thought.

Harry's mother narrowed her eyes at Padfoot. "I am really beginning to dislike you who I don't even know the name of."

"I'm flattered." He said while bowing slightly.

"Well, if you must know, I did not do anything illegal." said Harry slowly.

At this Shacklebolt and Moody's ears pricked up.

"It was all a misunderstanding." he added quickly at the look on his mother's face.

"To put it simply." muttered Sirius.

"Explain."

The two aurors were edging near the cell.

"Well... technically I didn't break any laws... that I know of... like aiding a _criminal_."

"Can't this wait until tomorrow?" asked Remus uncertainly.

nXn

A/N: Oooh... Harry's in a bit of a pickle. Ok, school's been a witch, not that I don't have any time at all... it's just that after more than an hour of homework I'm too lazy to do much of anything else, yep, weak. But... I've got a nice long chappy to compensate for the wait. I liked that chapter, even if Sirius was too cheerful, but yea.


	25. No Kidding

The Dogfather

Chapter 25

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns everything.

nXn

Harry shifted uncomfortably under his mother's cold stare.

"Look, Sirius, my godfather, got arrested for something he didn't do and I've been helping him hide."

Shacklebolt and Moody's eye brows cocked up.

"Didn't do?" growled Moody skeptically towards Sirius who simply shrugged.

"And what were you charged for?" questioned Harry's mother, steadily disliking more and more Harry's connection with his godfather.

"Mass murder." he answered lightly.

Harry cringed at his family's reaction.

"Erm, I think Moony was right, I think this _can _wait until tomorrow." mumbled Sirius timidly while Harry nodded vigorously.

"Of course, I'm always right." said Remus, wisely crossing his arms.

"This has been very enlightening, but I've got a few reports to approve." muttered Shacklebolt, checking his watch. "I'll send up one of the trainees, Mad-eye, you won't need too much help."

Harry finally convinced his mother to cease her fierce interrogation.

"And here I thought I was beginning to grow on her." said Sirius with a huff after Harry bid a weak farewell.

Suddenly there was a commotion down the hall, some skidding and what sounded like a rattling of the bars. A young witch, could probably past for nineteen, with a heart-shaped face and electric blue spiked hair came tumbling into view, out of breath.

"Erm sorry sir." she panted. "I kind of upsetted the fire extinguisher..."

Sirius was staring at her with interest and slight curiosity. The witch caught his gaze in slight bewilderment.

Suddenly, his face shone brightly and he let out a manic laugh.

The poor trainee stepped back from the cell, even more bewildered.

"Er, who is that, sir?" she asked timidly as he dropped to the floor.

"Sirius Black." muttered the auror.

The Witch did a double take. "You caught him? Where was he?" she asked, in amazement.

Moody let out a bitter laugh, "Hogwarts, helped by the boy who lived himself."

"Padfoot, what's wrong with you? Well... besides the obvious..."

Sirius finally stood up and wiped tears of laughter from his eyes. "This, my dear Moony is my little cousin..."

The trainee went rigid in alarm. "DON'T SAY IT! DON'T SAY IT1 DON'T SAY IT1 DON'T SAY IT1"

"... Nymphadora."

The witch slumped down in defeat.

"Nymphadora?" muttered Moody, his real eye widening in delight. "We've been trying to get it out of her since she got here; she even somehow got it erased from her file."

"Aw, poor Nymphypoo, don't worry, it's not your fault that our family is incompetent at naming." grinned Sirius. "Take mine for example... 'The black dog'." he said dramatically.

"Better than mine." muttered Remus "Dead give away, did I piss off some god before I was even born?"

Finally Nymphadora looked up from her sulking position on the floor. "One, I am not your cousin, I am your second cousin, two the name's Tonks for the last time."

"Same thing." said Sirius happily. "I always liked Andromeda, only sane person in the family, always ready to lend me a hand in filling Regulus' favorite slippers with crickets. Narcissa and Bella on the other hand were bi-"

"Language Padofoot!" said Remus sharply.

"Of course I wasn't going to say that... they were... witches of course." he finished innocently.

Remus rolled his eyes and Harry sniggered, catching Tonks' attention.

"Who are you." she said slowly, obviously taking in his age.

"Harry." he said simply.

Her eyes fell on his scar. "What's the bloody boy who lived doing here?"

"Short term memory is a harmful trait...like I said, he admitted to hiding Black." said Moody.

Tonks looked from her cousin to the boy. "... why?"

"Oh, because he bribed me with a few licorice wands of course." said Harry simply.

Remus made a low whistle, "Wow, Sirius' sarcasm is rubbing off on you."

"And who's he" she questioned, gesturing to Remus.

"That's just Moony, leave him alone and he won't bite." remarked Sirius lightly.

"Thank you for that warm introduction that comes with meeting every member of your family... my ears are still ringing from the last one." muttered Remus.

"And I've still got the marks." said Sirius happily.

xXx

"Wake up!" sounded a sharp voice.

Harry and co. arose from their cots to find two young aurors standing outside of their cells.

"Well, good morning to you too sunshine." yawned Sirius.

"Watch it Black, we're the ones with the wands here." snapped the other auror, pointing his wand threateningly through the bars.

"Nimphy and Mad-Eye were much nicer than you two, this is what happens when you give power to people who can't handle it." sighed Sirius. "Can I get some robes? I'd rather not get the kiss in my pajamas."

The aurors grunted and called for a house elf.

Ten minutes later the aurors lead the trio from the holding cells (which a large quantity of was encased with Dr. Filibuster's instant anti-heat foam) toward the courtroom, Padfoot in a stiff black robe.

Harry's stomach was steadily growing sicker. Even Sirius, who was flicking off staring people with a smile, was a tad green.

They passed a through a long stone corridor until they met a plain wooden door labeled 'Courtroom 5'.

The Aurors prodded their prisoners inside and were met with a sea of flashing lights.

"Smile for the cameras." muttered Sirius grimly.

In the center of the room were three chairs with chains on the arms. Once the three took a seat, the chains glowed and pinned them tightly. Mutterings, not exactly friendly, immediately emitted from the spectators.

Harry craned his neck to spot any familiar faces in the crowd. His stomach squirmed as he noticed his family seated in the front row.

Cornelious Fudge was perched on a high platform, smugly observing the prisoners. Amelia Bones, Dumbledore, and several ministry officials were positioned on a lower platform.

"Isn't Bones supposed to be head judge?" remarked Sirius thoughtfully.

"Yes, but the minister can step in any time he or she wants... I suppose Fudge wants to play glory seeker." replied Remus.

"I knew I never liked the guy."

Fudge banged his hammer much harder than necessary, calling for order.

"Erg, my ears are going to be ringing from _that_ even longer." said Sirius, cringing.

"Yeah, who does he think he is!" agreed Harry.

"Order in the court!" repeated Fudge angrily.

Sirius simply looked up at the minister with mock sweetness and said "I'm terribly sorry, were you saying something?"

Fudge simply glared and shook his head.

"Sirius Black, you are charged with the murder of Peter Pettigrew and twelve muggles, betrayal to Lily and James Potter, association with the dark side escaping Azkaban prison, eluding capture and recruiting death eaters, how do you plead?"

"Not guilty for all charges." he replied confidently, ignoring gasps from the crowd.

The minister stared. Even the whizzing quill acting as court clerk stalled for a second. Dumbledore simply smiled.

"I'll say it once, I'll say it again, the defeated turtle look does _not _suit you!" remarked Sirius with a huff.

"Again, are you joking?" said Fudge slowly, ignoring his comment.

"Well, if I was, then I am still in the land between coffee and bed, and in which case, I have missed the bus and really must be going."

Fudge gave Sirius another stunned look and continued.

"Remus Lupin, you are charged with aiding and hiding an escaped criminal, how do you plead?"

"Not guilty."

"Harry Potter, you are charged with aiding and hiding an escaped criminal, how do you plead?"

"Not guilty."

"Sirius Black, how do you explain the murders of Peter Pettigrew and the twelve muggles?"

nXn

A/N: Nice way to end a too short chapter. Fwap, I had this ready last Sunday... but I had to spend all week at my Grandma's... and she doesn't have internet connection. So, the next chapter will be a) up in the space of at most five days, b) much longer than this one c) come with a pickle. (Most likely c) Um, I'm not sure how trials work. i'm kind of basing this off of the Barty Crouch ones, but in Harry's hearing, Fudge was the judge. I suppose Fudge judges when he wants glory... I reread chapter 24 and I'll probably be reposting it sometime soon...


	26. Just The Facts

The Dogfather

Chapter 26

Disclaimer: not mine.

nXn

Sirius swallowed, wondering the best way to word this.

"Well, first of all, there was no murder of Peter Pettigrew... he's still alive." he began.

'Smooth move Padfoot.' he thought as the court room immediately erupted in gasps of disbelief.

Dumbledore took over for the immobile minister by saying calmly, "how is that so when there were fifty witnesses that claim to have seen you kill him?"

'Good old Dumbledore, cutting to the chase.' he thought. "He's an illegal animagus. He killed the muggles with a wand behind his back and then transformed into a rat and sped into the sewers."

"And what proof do you have that Pettigrew is indeed an animagus." asked another judge.

"Erm... my word... and Remus'." said Sirius uneasily. Fudge rolled his eyes, making Harry's anger rise.

"And why would he not be registered?"

Sirius bit his lip and said toward the judges, or rather Dumbledore, "Can this question be dismissed as irrelevant?"

The witches and wizards consulted each other. "No." concluded Bones.

Sirius swallowed again, hoping he wouldn't be the one to draw attention to Remus' lycanthropy. "He became an animagus under aged." he said shortly.

"At what age?" asked Bones.

"Fifteen." he replied.

"Peter Pettigrew was known to be a... bit incapable, how would he be able to achieve such a feat without aid?"

Sirius was growing sick with beating around the bush. He exchanged a look with Remus who sighed and nodded.

"James Potter and I helped him... we wanted to accompany Remus on full moons and so we all became animagi. I'm a black dog." he said quickly.

The crowd took this new piece of information with much murmur and surprise.

"You are an unregistered animagus." said Bones blankly; Fudge seemed to have lost his post of head judge. Sirius nodded. "Add to the charges of Sirius Black, illegal animagus."

'Crap, forgot about that.'

"Why would Pettigrew kill the muggles?" asked Dumbledore calmly, changing the subject.

"Because, he wanted to put the only person who knew he was the spy in Azkaban." answered Sirius. "I was Lily and James' Secret Keeper but then I persuaded them to switch to Peter because he was less likely, but then he betrayed them to Voldemort."

A shiver ran through the crowd.

Fudge was blazing. "If you are saying that you switched with Pettigrew, how do we know that you weren't a death eater as well and trying to pin the blame on him?"

Sirius stared transfixed. That was the weakest idea he'd ever heard.

"Is there any _real_ proof that you are not a death eater?"

Sirius desperately racked his brain for something... any thing.

"Just as I thought." smirked Fudge. "And if you didn't kill Pettigrew, where has he been for the past ten years?"

Sirius grinded his teeth together before looking back up, cool as a cucumber.

"He's been hiding as a pet rat, in the Weasely family."

There was a gasp from the crowd. Everyone craned their neck to see Arthur Weasely.

Dumbledore took advantage of the situation and called, "Mr. Weasely is it true that your family has been the home of a rat for ten years?"

"Y-yes." he stuttered. "For ten years actually, but he disappeared around September."

Fudge looked like he was about to murder Arthur. "Fine, but there is no living proof that the rat was indeed Pettigrew."

'He uses the word 'proof' a lot.' mused Sirius.

Amelia Bones cleared her throat and said, "If you have not practiced dark magic, then how did you escape from Azkaban?"

'Finally, one I can answer.'

"Well, dementors can't sense animals... their thoughts are less complex, so I was able to slip past them in my animagus form."

"Can you prove that you are an animagus?" questioned Fudge.

Sirius looked at the minister as if he were a mutated lima bean. 'He charged me for it even though he doesn't believe it?'

"Yes." he said calmly. "But... can I do it out of the chair?"

The Judges huddled together as if they were determining life or death.

Bones flicked wand, the chains glowed and came undone, but a cage surrounded the area around the chair.

'Awfully paranoid, this lot.' thought Sirius as he transformed. The courtroom stared at the large black lab that now stood in the place of him. Sirius decided to lighten things up and rolled on his back, chased his tail and barked playfully.

"Enough." said Fudge grumpily.

Sirius transformed and sat back down. Remus hid his laughter behind his hand. And Harry was watching his parents, petrified.

The cage disappeared and the chains returned.

Sirius decided that his interrogation was over as the judges turned their attention to Harry.

"Harry Potter, how long have you been aiding Black?"

"Well, it depends on what you call 'aiding' if you mean how long I have been in contact; it's been a bit more than a year and a half." Harry intentionally stared in the opposite direction of his parents as he said this, knowing their reactions would not be pleasant.

"How did you meet him?" asked Bones.

"He was disguised as a mutt at the pound... my family adopted him." 'Oh god... that does not sound good.'

Remus didn't know whether to laugh or cringe. Sirius seemed to be doing a mixture of both.

"Right..." said Bones, with raised eyebrows. "Then, he revealed his human form, why did you not tell the authorities? Muggles were aware of him."

"He explained to me he was innocent before I could do anything." said Harry simply. "And, the story seemed logical, so I believed him"

"Remus Lupin, how long have you been aiding Black?"

"Erm...around four months I suppose."

"Why?"

Remus bit his lip, wondering how to word this without revealing that Dumbledore and The Weasleys were involved.

"Well... there was a tribe of demeguises in the forest... they had been mating and this caused the terrain around their breeding ground to become invisible, so I went to control the situation." Remus swallowed, this was half-true, there is in fact a tribe in the forest, probably the only one in Britain, and he did have to sort out a problem in September, "Anyways, it became dark soon, so I ducked into a cave for the night because I couldn't find the path back to the school, and well, hiding in the cave was Sirius... at first I wanted to hex him to Antarctica and back but, he explained, and like Harry, I believed him."

Remus cringed at how weak it sounded, but Fudge couldn't say 'Do you have proof that you were in the forest on the night of December 4, 1991?' Hopefully not. He also prayed that the judges would over look the fact that the mating season ended in October.

The interrogation seemed to end. The three wondered what would happen next.

However, soon enough a group of aurors released the grip in which the chairs held them, and began to lead them back to the holding cells.

"They don't have a verdict." said Sirius slowly, staring into space. "Well this is lovely."

Six hours later...

Remus stared at the cement wall of his wall... in deep thought.

The grayness was getting to him.

In times of waiting or suspense, Remus tried not to dwell on what could be, but what is. He found sorting out the present a lot more relaxing than speculating the future. This called for a rousing spell of meditation.

So far, Remus' musings had brought some, yet little, success.

Sirius, however, was not very good at waiting, or musing, or thinking, or anything that Remus was.

"Arrrrrrrrrgh!" he groaned.

Remus looked up to see what had interrupted his thoughts... again.

"Padfoot, how many times must I tell you, kicking the wall does _not _make it go away." he gently scolded, as if talking to a small child.

"Why thank you, all wise and prestigious Moony." growled Sirius, nursing his toe.

"And don't you forget it."

"Have you figured out anything?"

"Well... now that you ask." said Remus, stretching. "I've decided that we have big problems."

"Really? Do tell."

"For example, I believe that Wormtail has teamed up with Lucius Malfoy and his recruiting death eaters as we speak."

"Beautiful."

"And that, the letter Harry found in Draco Malfoy's pocket was cursed, at least to prying eyes that is."

"That explains a lot." muttered Harry, sub-consciously rubbing his temple.

Suddenly, the three were interrupted by the sound of foot steps down the hall way.

Albus Dumbledore came into sight, looking grave.

A/N:

Okay people, we've got major problems here 1) I'm very bad at keeping my word, this took over twice as long as it should have and has no pickle! 2) Harry's family has barely any personality which is kind of pathetic on my part... 3) A category 4 hurricane is heading towards the Texas coast... the city is panicking and the high way looks like a parking lot...(actually, that's a bit normal.) So, basically, I'm going to lose power for a while or lose my computer (take your pick) It may be a long time before I get the next chapter up, and I'm moving in October. Oh well, enough about me. A bit of a cliffy... things may get a touch dramatic next chapter... no... I wouldn't do that... just not my thing... so, flame away, I deserve it...


	27. Sheep and wolves

The Dogfather

Chapter 27

Disclaimer: Me: Sign here... and you get... a billion dollars!

J.K.: But I already have a billion dollars... hey what does that say-

Me: knocks author out, sees people watching I mean... of course I don't own Harry Potter...

A/N: Okay, I've still got time...

nXn

"The jury has come to a decision." announced Dumbledore grimly.

Sirius turned green; Harry sank into his cot, Moony swallowed.

Dumbledore sighed, "If Peter Pettigrew is not found in six months... Sirius gets the kiss, Remus goes to Azkaban for five years and Harry, one when he turns seventeen."

"No!"

xXx

Harry stared intently at his hands.

He and Remus were traveling from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts via horseless carriage.

That past few days had been torture. Sirius was back in Azkaban and could be worse than dead in a few months. He had no idea how they were going to find Pettigrew... let alone facing his piers once he returned.

The journey continued in silence, the rain beating melodramatically against the windows. He was only here to clean out his office. He'd immediately handed in his resignation, _The Daily Prophet _had probably already mentioned in the articles that he was a lycan, plus he hoped to begin a 24/7 search for Pettigrew the next day. Harry had insisted on helping, but Remus had fiercely declined. It was too dangerous if Lucius Malfoy was in the equation.

Finally, the carriage passed the winged boars at the gate and stopped at the stone steps that lead to the entrance hall. Dumbledore was patiently waiting. It was late, probably around ten or eleven o'clock. Remus was thankful for this, he didn't want to make a scene. However, he didn't know how he was going to avoid one at breakfast.

The two entered the school, nodding dumbly to Dumbledore who was briefing them on some minor changes. Finally Harry and Remus went their separate ways, Remus to his quarters, and Harry to his dorm. Harry, unsurprisingly, found his dorm dark and peaceful. He changed into his pajamas and climbed into bed, but couldn't fall asleep for at least another hour.

Remus also climbed into bed, but the approaching full moon was beginning to take minimal effect and he slowly fell into deep slumber... but suddenly awoke remembering the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

"Lockhart!"

nXn

Gilderoy Lockhart gracefully stepped from the fireplace of the Three Broomsticks, a stylish new briefcase in one hand and designer cloak fashionably slung over his shoulder. He smiled broadly at the small population of the inn and made a show of smoothing back his golden curls. Gilderoy strode through the bar toward the exit, winking at goggling witches and grumpy warlocks alike. Soon enough, he reached Hogsmeade lane where a carriage awaited for him.

Albus Dumbledore sighed as the new professor approached. He never thought he would resort to hiring Gilderoy, but he could not find anyone else willing to take the job. The headmaster inclined his head at the wizard and held open the door.

"Good morning Albus!" greeted Gilderoy joyfully. Dumbledore simply showed a thin smile.

Gilderoy did not take notice and continued "Yes, exciting isn't it? Gilderoy Lockhart, proud member of the defense league, Order of Merlin third class, champion of _Witch Weekly's _most charming smile competition and Hogwarts professor."

Albus' smile became more fixed.

Suddenly Gilderoy's expression changed to that of concern,"However, I must say, Albus, I do not approve of your appointment of staff... a half-giant as grounds keeper and then a _werewolf_! Merlin, I thought you were off your rocker before you fired him."

Dumbledore dropped his smile and calmly said, "Remus resigned in his own will. He's the best professor we've seen in a while at this school. I never had or will have a doubt against his abilities." The carriage had now stopped and the two were heading towards the entrance hall, just in time for breakfast.

"Ah, yes, but it's a shame that he turned out to be a death eater." sighed Gilderoy without sincerity.

Albus was slowly losing his calmness. "Gilderoy, I am sure you have paid attention to the trial and know as well as I do that it is not certain that Remus is a death eater, and as a member of the jury and friend of Remus for many years I believe he has no association to the dark side whatsoever!"

Suddenly, as if it were a sitcom, the werewolf in question was standing a few feet away from the men, mildly impressed.

"Oh, good morning Remus! I trust you are prepared to leave." said Dumbledore.

"Er, yes... I was just about to wake Harry... his dorm mates apparently ignored the task."

Dumbledore nodded and Lockhart sneered. Remus frowned and headed up the marble staircase.

Meanwhile, Harry was in deep slumber, having the most marvelous dream. Usually his dreams were a series of random flashes of Leprechauns or bubble gum. However, this one involved him, Sirius and Remus, just walking, walking over fields, through forests and mountains. It was rather pleasant and not as boring as one would think. Alas, all good things must come to an end sooner or later and so Harry woke to find his favorite werewolf shaking him.

"Mermuskelupinsins." grumbled Harry as he fumbled through the scarlet sheets.

"Harry, come on, you've got about fifteen minutes until class starts, and Snape first."

Harry sprung from the bed and hunched his shoulders, attempting to rid the fatigue from his body.

He groped for a water jug near the window sill, cupped some liquid into his hands, and spread it across his face and hair.

As the Gryffindor hastily pulled a robe over his head, he noticed that Remus was attempting to hide a laugh.

"Look in the mirror." muttered Remus, "I think your dorm mates may have learned a thing or two from you."

Harry consulted his reflection and found that his usually jet black hair was plagued with green and silver streaks. The boy attempted the only counter charm he knew and was dismayed to find the words, 'Slippery Slytherin' form.

"Lovely." he grumbled.

"Allow me?" offered Remus.

Five minutes later the two walked into the entrance hall, each with his rightful hair color.

Harry stared at the oak doors, behind which his piers were peacefully enjoying their breakfast. He could just avoid them... eat all of his meals in the kitchen. But, it was better to rejoin the school now than potions.

He took a deep breath and opened one of the doors and immediately regretted it.

The whole hall was staring in silence towards the doors.

Harry wanted nothing more than to go crawl into his little hole in the ground, turn up the music loud and never look back. However, Remus was prodding him forward. Darn him.

Harry swiftly made his way toward the Gryffindor table, his foots echoing throughout the hall.

He desperately hunted for a seat, anything that would make him somewhat more sociable.

"Over here, Harry" called a voice.

Harry looked up to see George Weasely motioning for him to sit down.

'Well, at least I've still got _some_ friends.' he thought as he sat down next to the red-head.

Slowly conversation returned, but Harry still felt as if all eyes were on him.

Harry scooped some hash browns onto his plate and turned to the twins. "So, anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

"Actually..." began Fred.

"We've got problems..." said George.

"After Diggory got sent to the Hospital Wing..."

"And you got...well..."

"... arrested."

"We had to use our subs and..."

"Wilson isn't really..."

"The best of seekers..."

"And so..."

Harry's fork paused between his mouth and plate. He'd completely forgotten about the quiditch match. "You're basically telling me... we lost the match."

"To put it bluntly." supplied Fred.

"Great, as if I didn't have enough problems." grumbled Harry, burying his heads into his arms.

"It's just a game" come from the other side of the table. To his surprise, he looked up to see Ron and Hermione.

Ron was watching them as if they were crazy and Hermione looked as if she'd said something wrong.

"What?"

"Mind your own business, Potter!" snarled Ron.

Harry looked rather taken aback.

Deciding to play dumb, the boy muttered. "Fred, George... fill me in... since when does Ron call me by my surname..."

"Since I found out you were helping a murderer!" retorted Ron.

"Who? Sirius?"

"You call him _that_!" the other boy exclaimed, as if it were a crime.

"Erm... sorry, have the rules changed? I thought it was customary to refer to people you like by their first names... but I guess that's just me... besides, he said he'd hex my pants off if I didn't." suddenly Harry saw that Hermione was holding a copy of _The Daily Prophet _"Hey, Hermione, can I borrow that?"

"Back off, death eater." snapped Ron.

Harry raised an eyebrow "Oh, come off it, you're being utterly ridiculous. I just want to see what it says about the trial." he growled agitatedly.

"Ha! Trial, that was pathetic they should have given Black the kiss as soon as they got him-"

Crack! Suddenly Ron's body was covered was covered with spiders. The boy began to squeak and fell to the ground, writhing in fear.

Harry raised his wand to send another curse towards him when a hand fiercely held his arm back. The boy turned to see Remus pulling him out of the hall and into a neighboring broom closet.

Harry grumpily crossed his arms plopped onto an old box sporting the feint words: Luminous slugs! that was now housing a handful of brillo- pads.

"I know this may be hard Harry... but you can't go doing that."

"He deserved it." said Harry shortly.

"If you end up cursing everyone with different views... first of all your wand arm will become stiff pretty soon andit wouldn't be a wise social move."

Harry didn't say anything.

"What did he do anyway? Wait, no, I don't want to know."

Several minutes later the two emerged from the broom closet, Harry looking like a small child that was sent to the time-out corner.

Most students were exiting the great hall by now, and so Harry spotted the twins and quickly joined them.

"Hey, Fred, George, did you ever notice that Ron has problems?"

The two smiled broadly and replied, "Why, _never_! He's always _such_ a _dear_!"

A/N:

Okay, this story has taken an unpleasant turn... I never knew I could be so mean, but Sirius will be visited by Remus and Harry... Ron doesn't deal with his emotions very well; it's so fun to write... well... not for Harry. Gilderoy is in the picture! I hate that guy so much! But he's also fun to write about.

Um, Rita is moving to the east, so Houston (where I live) will not get the brunt of it plus it's fifty miles inland. If I try to leave, I will be edging north at the break-neck speed of 2 inches per hour with no AC in 100 degree weather, running out of gas. So, I'm quite content to stay here behind my storm shutters. Got to go now, I have to read two books. My English teacher is so mean and gave us homework and two tests when we come back. He calls this the Hurricane 'Break'.


	28. Unwanted Help

The Dogfather

Chapter 28

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Sirius, or any of their furry little friends. sadly

nXn

Harry reached potions as early as possible and sat in the back row. As the class shuffled in, he hid behind volume 26 of _Applications of Moonstones in Healing Solutions_. It was beyond Harry how such a subject could cover more than one volume, let alone twenty six. The only reason he had checked it out in the first place was because Madam Prince had caught him snooping around in more 'interesting' practices and it was the closest book at hand.

Snape burst through the door in is usual style. Harry immediately began to long for his handy voodoo doll. The Potions Master began to take roll and seemed to skip to Harry's name and his face seemed to twist into an evil grin.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, I see you have once again graced us with your presence."

"Apparently so." he said shortly, trying with all his might to ignore the smirk on Malfoy's face and to refrain from saying something much ruder.

"I trust you enjoyed your little holiday."

"Not really." the Gryffindor made out through gritted teeth.

"After all, that murdering godfather of yours and his trusty werewolf accomplice are such charming company."

Harry blinked, speculating the limit of what a professor could say in front of his class. The boy simply glared. Snape seemed to grow tired of tormenting him and so moved on.

The class ahead included an extremely complex potion (for first years) and so Snape decided it would be a grand idea to assign mixed house groups. Well, the actual point of this was to make as horrible an experience as possible for the Gryffindors. The potions master had obviously caught wind of Harry and Ron fighting, and so stuck them together with Malfoy and Hermione.

Harry patiently weighed a cluster of snail shells, trying to ignore Malfoy and Ron. Hermione had still not said a word to him.

"I thought that you would be sitting on our side of the room by now, considering Slytherin's undeserved reputation." said Malfoy smugly.

Harry scowled and said, "Don't play dumb, Malfoy. You know perfectly well that your father is probably having a nice cup of tea with Pettigrew as we speak."

"Ah, still on about that? I read the details of the trial, quite amusing in my opinion." Malfoy turned to Ron "I never imagined your family to be the sort to hide a death eater."

Ron grew beet read and exclaimed. "That's absolute rubbish! Scabbers was an average rat!"

"Of course" said Harry, rolling his eyes, "An average rat who just _happened_ to live past the extraordinary age of ten years. An average rat that was _coincidentally_ missing a toe in what _happened_ to be the same place Pettigrew would be missing afinger.An average rat that just _happened_ to go missing when I came to Hogwarts." the boy casually leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. "Yep, absolute rubbish if you ask me."

Ron said nothing and Malfoy began to laugh. The Slytherin leaned over the cauldron to pick up his text book when a silver ring, bearing some sort of family crest; slipped of his finger into the steaming substance that was their potion. Hermione, who was the only one that had not ceased their work, immediately dutifully plucked the heirloom from the cauldron.

Malfoy exploded. "Get your filthy hands off it! That's _mine_!" sounding like a three year old parted with a favorite toy.

Harry's features twisted and he hissed, "Mmmyyyyyyyy P-reeeecioussss."

Hermione burst out laughing and Ron and Malfoy looked at the two as if they were crazy.

"So you've read the book?" said Harry casually, reminding himself that Hermione had not yet displayed her opinion of his situation.

"Yeah, well, the _Hobbit and the Fellowship of the Ring_."

"I'm at the beginning of _Return of the King_" noticing the two purebloods' questioning looks, he added. "It's a muggle thing."

The period continued and eventually ended without much event.

The next class was Defense Against The Dark Arts. Remus did not think too highly of the new professor. He had remarked something along the lines of 'A self-absorbed lunatic with fake hair.'

Harry entered the classroom and the Professor in question was seated on his desk smiling at awed girls. The Gryffindor was about to seek a seat at the back of the classroom once again but Lockhart called him back.

"Ah, Harry, I was wondering if we could speak in private."

Harry blinked, "Okay..."

The professor practically dragged Harry into the corridor, which was clogged with students racing to their class before the late bell rang, hardly more private than the alternative.

"Ah, Harry, I'm Gilderoy Lockhart, as you know, your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, you may recognize me from my latest book, _Magical Me_."

Harry shook his head.

"_Holiday's With Hags_?" He said uncertainly.

Another negative answer.

"_Year of the Yeti_?" He asked almost frantically.

Again, Harry shook his head, wondering if this was the _Daily Prophet_ book review.

"Ah, well, not important." continued Lockhart, beaming. However Harry swore he caught a tone of disappointment. "Anyways Harry, I was simply wondering if you needed any help whatsoever, I am prepared to aid you in anyway."

The Gryffindor blinked this Lockhart character was creeping him out. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you see, I believe that you have made some mistakes. You are young so it is easy to be misguided, however... I understand that you would regret what you have done and would wish to redeem yourself, I'd be more than happy to lend a helping hand. I understand if you are hesitant to trust someone, after last time, but I promise I only intend good. And I have many connections within the ministry so... that one year sentence once you come of age could be taken care of."

Harry completely understood. Lockhart wanted the glory of showing the confused Boy-Who-Lived the light.

"No thanks Professor." he answered coldly. "I can assure you that I have no regret for my actions whatsoever."

Lockhart looked almost fearful. "Ah, I see, well, how about a nice cup of tea Friday evening?"

Before Harry could answer in the negative, the bell rang and cut him off.

"Ah, excellent, my office, five o'clock then!" exclaimed Lockhart cheerfully.

The lesson ended up being one of the saddest events Harry had seen in a long time.

Lockhart ended up talking about himself for a good portion of the period and the rest about his dismay that only Hermione had read all of his books.

The 'Professor' ended handing out out battered extras of Year of the Yeti and assigned a summary of Chapters 1-5 and to answer the following questions:

1. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite type of shoe?

2. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite pet?

3. How would Gilderoy Lockhart describe the social structure of the Himalayan tribes?

4. What is the more efficient use Gilderoy Lockhart invented for the Muggle camera?

5. In chapters 2- 4, name and describe three occurrences in which Gilderoy Lockhart wrestles a vicious mountain goat for a bezoar.

"Yes, rather suspenseful match that would be." remarked Seamus Finiggan, surveying the homework with disgust. "Goldie Locks versus Mary's little lamb, round three!"

The boys erupted into laughter while the girls simply turned their heads and said they were just jealous.

That evening, Harry tried to complete his homework, but ended up having a staring competition with the bulletin board. There is a folder pinned to the board filled with mail for students with muggle parents. Harry occasionally checked it, but now he was filled with anxiety of word from his family. Meeting his mother's wrath in the holding cell's had already left him a few scars, but he had no idea what she would think of Padfoot, the lovable mutt, actually being an Azkaban escapee.

The Gryffindor eventually steered himself back to his piece of parchment and focused on the question at hand: What more efficient use did Gilderoy Lockhart invent for the muggle camera?

Harry forced himself to not answer 'Using it to hit his temple with much force from a very close range.' Sighing, he consulted the book.

Soon, the common room began to thin and Harry spotted Hermione heading towards the girls' dormitory. Harry ran after her and blocked the threshold of the steps.

"May I talk to you in private?"

Hermione looked rather nervous but nodded.

Harry led her to a somewhat more secluded corner of the common room and the two sat down in facing arm chairs.

"Do you think I'm evil?" said Harry bluntly.

An expression of alarm crossed Hermione's features. "I-er-I don't know..."

Harry nodded.

There was a silence between them until Hermione said "I have one question though... remember a while ago, I think it was the first advanced course we had, and there was the boggart and... was that Sirius Black?"

"Yeah."

"Does that mean you're afraid of him?"

"No, I'm afraid of him getting the kiss." he replied.

Hermione nodded nervously and made her way to her dormitory.

Harry shrugged and returned to his homework.

Before Harry knew it, Friday afternoon was upon him. Even potions went more quickly than usual.

Harry slung his nimbus over his shoulder and hiked out to the quiditch pitch. Wednesday, most of his team mates said barely more than necessary to him, save Fred and George.

The Gryffindor decided that if Lockhart questioned why he did not arrive, he would simply reply that he had forgotten.

To his luck, Harry spotted the flaming red heads of Fred and George flying above him.

The boy grinned and met his friends, the three then engaged in a game with Harry and George as chasers and Fred as Keeper.

An hour and a half later, the Gryffindors made their way toward the Great Hall for dinnerwhen they bumped into none other than Gilderoy Lockhart.

"Oh, Harry, I've been looking _everywhere_ for you!"

'Obviously not.' he thought. "Really?" he asked.

"Yes, remember, the tea?"

Harry concentrated for a moment then softly smacked his forehead. "Oh, the _tea_! Of course, _now_ I remember! I'm terribly sorry professor."

"Ah, how about tea tomorrow, same time same place?"

Deciding he would not be able to get out of it, Harry agreed

"I am really beginning to dislike that guy." confined Harry to the twins as Lockhart walked away.

A/N:

Okay, that took me forever. Not because of length, I just couldn't coordinate it properly. It's still a bit awkward. Hee hee hee, Lockhart and Harry, such a lovely pair. Sorry this took so long, I'm really becoming unreliable... About the Smeagol joke... yes, corny, but in the early nineties it would have been much funnier because there were no movies, so people had not beaten that to a pulp yet.


	29. Lovely Letters

The Dogfather

Chapter 29

Disclaimer: No, I don't own that rock, No I don't own that hat. No, I don't even _want_ to own _that_! Sadly I don't own Sirius, Remus, Harry, or Lockhart's wig.

nXn

Tea was a painful affair, for Harry that is.

He arrived at 5:10 (peeves had made a swamp out of the third story corridor being his excuse). Lockhart's office was enough to make any sane person gag.

The walls were lined with posters of himself. Winking and smiling away. The tank in which Remus kept a grindylow during his time in the office for the third years was gone, leaving an empty and somewhat lonely corner.

Lockhart gestured to an armchair set before the desk, upon which were a steaming kettle and a plate of biscuits.

The professor poured tea into two antique cups. Harry wordlessly took his while Lockhart dropped two lumps of sugar into his own.

"So, Harry, what's on your mind?"

The boy in question was concentrating on a small fly buzzing against the window.

Deciding to be honest, he grinned to himself and said, "Oh, nothing really, I was just wondering if flies have mid-life crises."

Lockhart quickly took a long gulp of tea while Harry helped himself to a biscuit.

"So, I heard that you are on the quiditch team, keeper?"

"Seeker." corrected Harry, rolling his eyes while pretending to be interested in a poster of Lockhart that was picking his nose.

"Ah, yes. I used to fly myself, actually. Maybe I could teach you the Woski Fin." he suggested heartily.

"_Wronski Feint_, Professor." said Harry vaguely. "The _Woski Fin _is a type of fish found in the Caribbean that gives its consumer severe diarrhea."

"Oh, really?" muttered Lockhart uneasily. "That's what I meant, Wronski Feint, slip of the tongue."

"I already perform that move." said Harry casually, examining a fingernail.

"Oh, really? Who taught you it?"

Harry grinned inwardly "My Godfather." Well, Sirius taught him what it was, Harry just read the theory behind it in _Quiditch through the Ages_.

"Oh... I see." said Lockhart nervously.

Suddenly, their cozy conversation was interrupted by a tapping at the window. Harry glanced over to see a tiny brown owl on the window sill.

Harry went over and unlatched the window. The bird flew in and circled Harry's head. The boy took the parchment from the owl and it hooted a few notes of triumph before flying off.

Wondering who it was from, the Gryffindor unrolled it and began to read.

_Harry, _

_So far no luck. I've been staking out Malfoy Mansion for a couple days and an old death eater hot spot from the first war. If your fingers are burned by the end of reading this, don't worry it's just for security. Yes, I sound a bit paranoid. But, if Malfoy is organizing the death eaters again, I can't take any chances. I'm coming back on Monday, for the full moon. I owled the ministry the other day, for permits to visit Sirius, and they said we can't see him until around Easter! Damn bureaucracy. _

_See you on Monday,_

_Remus. _

Harry looked down at his hands, indeed, his palms were blackened. The boy mulled over the contents of the letter in his mind.

'Damn Bureaucracy indeed, what's it to them if we want to visit Sirius?' he thought with a scowl. However, what really bothered Harry was what if the Death Eaters _were_ getting stronger as he thought.

Harry's musings were interrupted by a cough from Lockhart. The boy placed the parchment into his jeans pocket and took his seat again.

"So, who's the letter from, Harry?"

"Remus." he said simply, nibbling on his biscuit.

"Oh." said Lockhart. "Erm, so, have you thought about what you're going to do once you finish school. Yes, OWLS seem far away, but before you know it, you're fifteen and it's the night before your final exam!"

Harry blinked. He hadn't really thought about it. The only thing that came to mind was to play quiditch... or be an auror. That would be interesting, however he had never even dueled someone, and all of the aurors he had met during the past week seemed rather dull and incompetent. _Well... Tonks certainly wasn't dull... and Moody certainly wasn't incompetent..._

"I dunno, maybe I could play quiditch, or be an auror." said Harry with a shrug.

"An auror! Now that's a fine idea!" exclaimed Lockhart.

Harry rolled his eyes, hoping Lockhart wouldn't try to make this an example of his 'good work'.

"Yeah, Sirius gave me the idea; he and my dad were aurors." said Harry casually.

Lockhart drained his tea cup.

"So... what do you think of _Year of the Yeti_?" they had been reading it in class, and every day Harry got sicker of it.

"Oh, it's nice but... I was wondering, in chapter seven, when you knock out the yeti with a piece of stone and at the same time, cast a freezing spell on its feet... I was always under the impression that freezing spells must be cast at an extremely short range, and Yetis are usually fifteen feet in height, so you couldn't possibly have done both at the same time."

"Oh, erm, it was a baby."

"But, then in chapter nine, you pledged that you had never and will never kill a baby." he challenged lightly.

"You know, Harry, I have some work to do, it's been nice speaking to you, I hope we can do this some other time."

Harry smirked and showed himself out of the office. Well, he had to admit, it was a _little_ fun.

Upon returning to the common room, he found himself once again eyeing the bulletin board.

Deciding to get it over with, the Gryffindor took a deep breath and marched towards the folder. He searched it for a few moments, and sure enough, there was large envelope marked _Harry Potter_.

He opened it and what seemed to be a receipt and a red envelope fell out. The receipt said:

_Post and Owls Unite_

_The official Muggle to Wizard communication service._

Mark your requirements:

Letter or Howler1: _Howler_

1._A howler is an envelope that screams at the receiver. _

Harry suddenly realized that the envelope was smoking. Then, to his horror, the letter burst into flames and the magnified voice of his mother filled the common room.

_Is this thing working? Oh... I see... Young man, you are coming home next month for Easter break no matter what! God knows what you were up to over the Christmas holidays! And be sure to expect a severe grounding! How could you have not even _bothered_ to tell us that your pet dog was a mass murderer! Oh... Kate would like to add that she always knew there was somethingwrong withhim... Anymore illegal business and you can say good bye to Hogwarts! _

Harry stared in shock at the ashes that rested in his palm. He had a faint awareness that everyone was laughing. He couldn't distinguish the more disturbing points of the howler. Whether, his family was against him and his mother was threatening to cut off his contact with wizards or that at the end of his mother's ranting, a voice said in an official tone: 'Thank you for using Post and Owls Unite.'

"Lovely mum, Harry." said Fred Weasely, looking thoughtful.

"Yeah, ours could use some pointers from her." added George.

Harry shrugged and sat down with the twins.

"So, anything happening?" asked Harry tiredly.

"Actually." said Fred, pulling an official looking folder from under the table they were seated at.

"We've been planning..." supplied George.

"Anything in particular?" asked Harry, noticing that most of the common room was still watching him. "What? You lot didn't think I had a mum or something?" Immediately, they turned away.

"Anyways." continued Fred. "we've been constructing plans to humiliate Lockhart."

"Interested?" offered George, folding his hands together in a business like manner.

"Of course."

A/N:

Not much to say...I enjoyed describing the mail service.


	30. The Blondes of discontent

The Dogfather

Chapter 30

Disclaimer: Yes, 'tis me! J.K. Rowling, the high and mighty! Ruler of Harry Potter and world of! Honestly I can make him do _anything _all you have to do is tell him you won't be his friend anymore and he'll eat all of his hair. Hah, I wish... No I'm not J.K. Rowling and I can't make Harry eat his hair.

nXn

"Okay, any reason for the prank in question?" began Harry.

"Well... not really..." murmured Fred.

"Besides him being a pompous git." added George

"What happened to the marauder code?"

Fred shrugged "Well... it had a bunch of stuff like..."

"eye for an eye..."

"and dung bomb for a dung bomb..."

"Like that Hammer-toffee bloke..."

Harry burst out laughing. "Hammer-toffee? Don't you mean Hammurabi?"

"Same thing." said the twins in union, shrugging.

"Anyway, the point is..."

"It was boring." said Fred bluntly.

Harry rolled his eyes and asked if they had any ideas.

"Actually, we've conducted three plans." said Fred handing the previously mentioned folder.

"Plan A is that we simply slip an acne potion into his food."

"Plan B is that we shave his head and write the letters 'I can't find my wig _anywhere_' on the back of his scalp, or glue on an orange afro."

"Plan C is that we combine A and B."

Harry furrowed his brow in thought. "I don't know, not your best." he muttered.

"I know we've been having an off-day." sighed George.

"If we want to really get Goldie Locks good," Goldie Locks had become the official nick name. "We have to try harder than that." muttered Harry.

xXx

Azkaban Prison...

Boredom.

Utterly painful boredom was all that Sirius felt.

Sirius had been back in Azkaban for less than a week but was already on the verge of losing his sanity.

No, it wasn't the dementors. In fact, there were no dementors at all. After the ministry found out about him being an animagus, they gave him human guards. Manipulating the aurors had gotten old by the first day and so, the only other remotely interesting thing left was staring at a dirty stone wall. He occasionally transformed into Padfoot, chase his tail or a fly for a while but the extra energy that a dog held intensified his mild claustrophobia, until he could swear that the walls were closing in on him. He almost wished that he still had his worst memories to entertain himself, almost.

Sirius was in the midst of counting stones when something of interest finally happened. Low and behold, everyone's favorite Daily Prophet reporter came to his door.

"Holy crap, what are _you_ doing here!" exclaimed a bewildered Sirius.

Rita Skeeter smiled evilly. "Oh, I've got a friend with good connections. He got me a permit."

Sirius felt himself pale; there was something about Rita Skeeter that always made him shiver. Maybe the fact that just by being in her presence can ruin your reputation and everything you've ever worked for.

"Anyways, the public is _dying_ for news from _the_ Sirius Black, the only thing we've printed lately are the minutes from the trial. Dumbledore is probably bribing the editor to not publish a word about Potter, and no one knows where your werewolf friend is."

Sirius scowled. "What makes you so sure that I'll help you? Besides, I'm sure you can simply draw something from your imagination."

"I've already tried that." she replied slyly pulling a piece of parchment from her robe pocket and tossing it to Sirius through the bars.

He began to read the parchment with apprehension... which quickly turned to disgust.

"Exactly what I expected." muttered Skeeter happily while Sirius eyed the parchment (whose contents will not be revealed) with shock. "Unless you comply, that will be the front page of the _Sunday Prophet_."

"So it's a, lose, lose situation." he said gloomily.

"Exactly, let's get started, shall we?"

Remus Lupin laid across the seat of a train on a one way trip to Hogsmeade village. He closed his eyes, savoring the relaxation and wishing the journey would never end.

So far, his search had been fruitless, unsurprisingly. He did not see any harm in returning to Hogwarts a day earlier than planned; he would only be missing a few hours of shifting through logs of dodgy inns for the names of old death eaters while ignoring suspicious looks from the bartender or breaking his back by bending over ancient maps of Malfoy Manor.

The Werewolf in question already saw the search through a helpless eye and was not sure what to do next. The only things on the agenda were, creating a type of Marauder's Map for the Malfoy Estate, which was next to impossible, or to apply for a portkey to Albania. At least that was what Dumbledore recommended. Remus desperately hoped it would not come to that. The forests of Albania were where Voldemort was rumored to be, but searching there would mean that they believed Pettigrew was in contact with him, or very close to.

Remus snapped from his musings and distracted himself by pulling _The Sunday Prophet_ from his trunk. The werewolf in question started as he came face to face with a photo of none other than Sirius Black.

The headline read:

**Black Speaks!**

_By Daily Prophet reporter Rita Skeeter_

Remus slowly blinked, folded and unfolded the newspaper, straightened into a sitting position, scratched his ear and timidly laid his eyes at the beginning of the article, hoping it would not be in shreds before the end of the train ride.

A:N:

Ack. That took me for ever and it's barely a thousand words... This has been the longest wait for any chapter before... it's been a mixture of computer problems, volleyball and basketball games, Science and History projects, and writers block. Sorry. I'll try to upload the next chapter within this universe...


	31. Late in the Night

The Dogfather

Chapter 31

Disclaimer: And remember kids, never get stoned on an empty stomach and J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and world of!

nXn

The recently tried Sirius Black has finally become available for interview by the press. As much of the Magical community knows, Black was the first escapee of Azkaban prison, in which he now resides, and recaptured, in the company of none other than Harry Potter! This Daily Prophet reporter took upon herself the task of interviewing Black about his thoughts of his current situation. The death eater in question was mood, continuously sprung out of his chair in rage, and even confessed plans of murdering Cornelious Fudge. Black still places firm belief in his cock and bull story and believes that his position is a perfect example of how wizards never use logic.

When asked how he felt about Harry Potter's part in the sequence of events, Black replied. "Harry is my godson and I love him dearly. He is most certainly not a death eater and will never be one. And if you lot believe that, the human race has truly failed me."

Does this mean Black is going through mental difficulties or is he simply playing the part of an innocent victim to weasel his way out of the dementors kiss?

After nearly having my quill snapped in half, I decided that my work there was done but I concluded that...

Remus folded the paper in two, not bothering to read how mentally insecure his friend was. He decided that it could have been worse, but Skeeter obviously portrayed Sirius as a dark maniac and did not write the article under the terms of 'innocent until proven guilty'.

The werewolf retrieved a piece of parchment and a quill from his trunk. He addressed a letter to Sirius, asking to explain the more interesting points of the article. He could submit the letter to the ministry, if they allowed it.

Harry sunk back into his armchair, a copy of _The Sunday Prophet _crumpled in one hand. He was not quite sure how he felt about the contents of the article, it certainly did not portray his godfather as a victim of misunderstanding, simply a lunatic. However, he could definitely imagine Sirius planning to assassinate Fudge...

A tap on the shoulder interrupted Harry's thoughts. He turned to find Fred and George standing over him.

"Hullo." he said casually.

"Ready?" said Fred..

"Yeah, where's Lee? Isn't he coming?"

"He's coming, but he's not too keen on spending half an hour or so with you." grumbled George.

"I'm flattered." muttered Harry. "Alright, I'll run and get the map and the cloak."

By the time Harry returned to the common room, it was empty except for the twins and Lee Jordan who had assembled near the portrait hole.

Harry wasn't too thrilled about letting Lee in on his invisibility cloak. The map was no secret; the twins had already used it with him. He decided that he would only use it as a last resort.

Harry arrived at the portrait hole and Lee's eyes immediately became interested in his shoes. He simply shrugged and nodded to the twins. The troop exited the common room and headed for an unused classroom.

Once inside, Fred opened a sack which had been slung over his shoulder and cleared his throat significantly to begin a short briefing.

"After much careful discussion, George and I have concluded that tomorrow shall be a very bad day for Mr. Gilderoy Lockhart."

Harry simply rolled his eyes.

"Big surprise." muttered Lee.

"Anyways," said George "This will be completed in two phases. Phase 1 shall be conducted tomorrow morning by Fred and I."

"Phase 2 will take place within the classroom, as planned, and Harry will have the pleasure of witnessing the event."

"What's phase 1?" asked Harry, not recalling having discussed it.

"You'll see." said the twins in union.

With that, the four headed toward the defense against the dark arts classroom. Harry was rather excited about 'Phase 2'. The plan was: Hide an assortment of timed water bombs within the classroom. Water bombs were a recent product from Zonkos. Their success was not too great, so Fred and George obtained a couple crates of them, half-price.

Next came Dr. Filibuster's wet-start fire works. After the classroom was flooded with at least half a foot of water, the fire works would have exploded, engulfing the chamber in a cloud of smoke and sparks. Then, once the chaos had cleared, Lockhart would find a colony of slugs under his desk.

The foursome soon reached the classroom without incident. Fred emptied the sack slung over his shoulder and the group went to work. Harry and Lee hid the water bombs, which appeared as normal water balloons, every where, behind the book cases, in the bookcases, inside cabinets, niches housing unlit torches, and within dustbins.

Harry was in the process of placing one behind a grandfather clock when it began to tremble.

The boy sprung back from the clock and was alarmed to find none other than Peeves the Poltergeist staring at him with a wide grin, hanging upside on the swinging pendulum.

Harry held his breathe, he knew that Peeves ratted on students out of bed, but he had also knew that Fred and George had gotten on the ghosts good side some how.

However, before The Gryffindor came to a conclusion, Peeves zoomed from within the clock and through Harry himself, which was not too pleasant of an experience.

While Harry drew a sharp intake of breath, the Poltergeist made his presence known to the room's occupants by swinging from the chandelier.

"Wee Little Kiddies, out of bed!" he cried happily.

George Fred, and Lee however, were shaken by the ghost's appearance and greeted him enthusiastically.

"My dear Peeves." began George.

Peeves tipped his orange cap in acknowledgment and waited for him to continue.

"As you may recall, my brother and I called you here, this evening, to assist us in the execution of a prank." said Fred smoothly.

"And how may I help?"

"I assume you would know that within Filch's rounds, he passes by this class room twice."

The poltergeist nodded.

"Your job is to keep him away, use your imagination!"

Peeves grinned, and with one last tip of his hat, he zoomed through the blackboard and was gone.

Harry blinked, "Well, that was most definitely normal."

Despite this short interruption, the foursome continued to work vigorously.

George was in charge of the fire works, which were strategically placed where bombs would surely spray water upon, and Fred watched the map, incase Peeves didn't succeed. Finally came the slugs.

George sheepishly plucked a small lumpy brown box from the bag and exchanged a nervous look with his brother.

"Is something wrong?" said Harry slowly, eyeing the package suspiciously.

"Erm, well you see Harry." began Fred. "This stuff isn't really... tested."

"You got it at Zonkos, right?"

"Er, no..." replied George. "Some guy was selling them outside the three broomsticks."

Harry bit his lip.

"So, what is _supposed_ to happen?" questioned Lee.

"At contact with water, it disintegrates into a swarm of slugs barely the length of my fore finger." answered Fred.

"What's the _worst _that could happen?"

"Um... but hey, isn't that the _fun_ in all of this?" said Fred brightly.

Harry and Lee simply glared.

"Oh come on, if the situation gets out of control, just sprinkle some salt on them." remarked George, exasperated.

After placing the package under Lockhart's desk, the group departed from the scene of the crime.

The foursome took a right turn and snuck behind a tapestry which hid a secret passage heading toward Gryffindor tower.

While the boys happily made their way back to the common room, they came upon an intersection which collided with a passage from the great hall. As they approached, they nearly collided with none other than Remus Lupin.

Harry's hand immediately sprung to his cloak, tucked under his robes, before he realized who it was.

"Remus!" chorused the twins and Harry, while Lee exclaimed "Lupin!"

The Werewolf had definitely seen better days. His eyes had bags under them and his hair looked as if it had witnessed a hurricane.

"Oh...er..." he muttered, as if he could not quite register who he was seeing, "oh, yeah, hi Harry, Fred, George...and your friend..."

"I thought you were coming tomorrow." said Harry, slightly perplexed.

"Ah, I caught an earlier train." he replied. "Otherwise, I don't believe I would have been conscience for the next one."

"Have you got any leads?" asked Fred while Lee gave him an odd look.

Remus let out a bitter laugh. "None." he answered tiredly. "Anyways, I really must be going, I think I won't make it to the end of the passage."

Harry and the twins bid farewell while Lee remained silent.

Remus made a step towards his destination, when he spun around and said. "Hold on... I know I'm not too out of it to know that it is at least...three hours past curfew."

"Oh...yeah... about that" grinned Harry.

"Erm, Remus, you're technically not a teacher anymore...right?" remarked George innocently, staring at the ceiling.

"Which means I can't dock points for committing a few evil deeds?" he asked lightly, raising an eyebrow.

"Exactly." they chorused.

The ex-professor simply rolled his eyes. "Victim?"

"Lockhart."

"Understandable, and with that, I bid you good night."

The two groups departed toward their separate destinations, both longing for their beds. During the short journey back to the common room, Lee remained silent as the group ascended to their dormitories.

He cast one last look at his companions and entered the third year dormitory.

Harry furrowed his brow and Fred and George simply shrugged. The Gryffindor went to bed slightly miffed by Lee's actions but decided not to worry about too much, especially after witnessing him and the twins teaching his pet tarantula how to tap dance, the following morning in the common room.

A/N:

Eep. An even longer wait... I suppose this chapter is a bit longer than usual but the wait is still inexcusable... sorry people, but the Christmas holidays are here so MAYBE I'll be able to get a chapter up before January fourth...


	32. Underestimating can be deadly

The Dogfather

Chapter 3...something

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns everything.

nXn

It was seven forty five in the morning when Harry felt a trickle of sunlight stream through a gap in his hangings.

The Gryffindor rose groggily and casually checked his clock before panic struck him. He immediately hopped out of bed to find the dormitory, pulled a pair of trousers from his trunk while searching frantically for a pair of socks, located his shoes lying in the dark depths beneath his bed, and pulled a half-buttoned shirt over his head, while sticking a tie around the collar.

On the way down the stairs, Harry would have congratulated himself on making himself somewhat presentable in less than thirty seconds; however he was too busy thrusting on his robe. As he exited the common room, he growled under his breath. This was the second time he'd forgotten to set his alarm clock. At least he assumed that was the case... one of his class mates could have easily messed with it himself, but that was a bit paranoid. So carelessness took the blame, although there would be further investigation upon the matter.

It took the Gryffindor a little over five minutes to reach the great hall, by then most students were leaving to first period, which began in ten minutes. Harry sighed and grabbed a piece of toast from the emptied tables. He was hoping to witness Fred and George's plan, although the students didn't seem too traumatized or amused, so he wondered what had taken place. On his way out, he also grabbed a salt shaker, just in case part B went wrong.

Monday morning Defense against the Dark Arts class had become some what of a joke between the first years.

The class still read Lockhart's books, and even had some sort of a mid-book test upon 'The Year of the Yeti' that actually covered a bit about dark creatures in the Himalayan mountains. This impressed Harry greatly, until he encountered an essay question about ways in which Gilderoy Lockhart contributed to the advancements of mapping and preserving the habitats of wild mountain goats.

Harry responded to this by suggesting he had destroyed all bridges so trolls wouldn't come and eat them.

Truthfully, he wasn't quite sure how he did preserve the habitat and did not really care. He also didn't mind that he received a zero on the portion, only the important bits mattered, (which he received full marks on).

Either the professor finally read over the curriculum, or he had not really thought about what he would do for the rest of the term, Hermione mentioned that the second half of the book became a bit graphic...class had now become entirely practical.

At first, Harry was a bit excited about this. Practical was much more interesting than reading a book the whole period. But, his excitement was gone when he found what they would be working with.

A garden gnome.

When Lockhart first placed the cage on the desk as if it were dynamite, Harry couldn't understand why he was afraid of a potato. When the potato suddenly stood up, revealing stubby limbs and facial features, and began to bang against the cage, he was a bit bewildered.

However, Ron exclaimed with disgust, "We're studying _garden gnomes_?"

Harry was now very confused. He was under the impression that garden gnomes were short ceramic statues with big shoes, red hats, and white beards, that some would place in their garden, hence the name "_garden_ gnomes." This creature looked more like an old boot that had been through a meat grinder a few times.

Lockhart replied to Ron's comment in shock, insisting that the creature was actually a dangerous and evil devil, too cunning for the minds of humble first years. Ron simply raised eyebrows in disbelief.

Now was the second day of studying the lump and it was asleep in its cage so the professor took this opportunity to point its features.

Harry looked down at his notes, they were a bit pathetic...it was more like care of magical creatures class. Unless they learned to stun the gnome, that would be much more interesting. After ten minutes, the Gryffindor checked his watch and realized it was time for the water bombs to start. As this thought crossed his mind, a popping sound consumed the classroom.

At first, it was quiet, not really noticeable, but then it slowly progressed into a roar. The pupils looked around themselves in terror and confusion. Harry took this chance to climb on top of his desk, knowing what would follow.

Then it came.

Waves of water cascaded from the walls, flooding the aisles immediately. The students quickly joined Harry by hopping onto the desk tops, although they weren't safe there.

Harry looked up, water was coming from the ceiling as well. He'd totally forgotten about the chandelier, they'd packed at least twenty in it.

The only thing they could do was to wait for it to end, but as soon as the rush began to slow down a bit, the room was filled with smoke as fireballs were released through the air.

Harry grinned as one flew past his ear. This was turning out better than he had expected. The room looked like a swamp infested with violent fireflies. Most of the students used their school books to swipe at the fireworks, Dean Thomas tried to stop one with a cup of water, but that made go out of control and so it rammed into the wall, terrorizing one of Lockhart's posters.. Lockhart was upon his desk with a look of horror upon his face. In one hand, he was clutching what appeared to be a fly swatter.

One headed straight toward him. He actually gave it a pretty hard whack, but it spun toward the cage of a now panicked garden gnome.

As he pulled back the fly swatter again to make another swing, he screamed. The fly swatter was on fire. Now consequently, his hair was too.

Now there were only two left. They somehow fused together and flew right towards Hermione. The Gryffindor gave a violent swish of her wand and muttered something. Whatever it was, it froze the firework so that it resembled an icicle.

The class released a sigh of relief. The smoke cleared, there wasn't much damage; the fireworks seemed to die as they crashed into the walls so nothing was burning.

"What the bloody hell was that?" cried Ron, grasping _Year of the Yeti_ with two hands..

The other Gryffindors shakily shrugged and asked the same question themselves.

Neville peaked from under a desk where he must have taken refuge during the commotion. His clothing was soaked, although he seemed relieved, probably that he still had all his limbs in the right place.

Lockhart looked up from his spot on the floor, looking around anxiously. Harry assumed that he'd dove into the water to extinguish his hair, which was no longer flaming. His eyes moved to the desk. The cage was empty and the door was wide open. The lock must have broken when the firework hit it.

The professor began to relax when he found the chaos had ceased. He began to walk, or wade rather, towards his desk but stopped in mid step.

"Is there something wrong, professor?" asked Lavender Brown, this seemed a bit silly, considering what had just passed.

Lockhart's face was white as he muttered something high pitched.

"Hair's lumpy, crummy, and brown in bed?" suggested Seamus.

"There's something moving around my legs." he croaked.

"It's probably the garden gnome." remarked Ron.

Harry grinned and felt the salt shaker in his pocket.

Then Parvati Patil screamed, "LOOK AT THE WALL!"

All eyes turned to where she pointed and Harry felt his stomach disappear. On the wall next the blackboard was largest slug head ever seen or imagined one to be. It was at least four feet long, six inch long antennas, and was trailed by a bright green slime.

Everyone was silent in horror as the monster sped its way across the walls and ceiling. He decided that he was the only one fit to act, having slightly expected this. He grasped the salt shaker in one hand and launched it towards the moving creature. It actually wasn't a bad shot, it crashed about an inch above the slug, showering it with salt, but it kept moving.

Now everyone began to panic. Girls squeaked and boys began to throw their books towards the 'monster'.

Lockhart was standing still, still recovering from all that had happened.

Hermione grasped his arm and shook it violently.

"_HELLO_! Can't you do something? WE NEED SALT!"

"Er, salt? Uh..." Lockhart waved his wand and muttered something.

Sure enough, a white substance shot out of his wand...and kept shooting.

Apparently, Lockhart didn't specify an amount. The classroom was no longer a sea of water, but buried it neck-high in pearly white hills.

It's a very odd feeling to see something vast rapidly approach you from a short distance. Harry swore he saw his life flash before his eyes before the source knocked him off his feet and buried him. After recovering somewhat, he swam through, reached the surface and gasped, "THIS IS SUGAR!"

By now, almost the whole class was buried and the slug dropped from the chandelier to the desert of sugar.

Harry groped for a chair and stood on it. Deciding it was partially his fault, he was intent on ending it. "Incendio!" he cried as the slug crept towards Ron's head.

The slug burst into flames and shriveled into a black lump. Harry frowned, wondering why he didn't think of that before.

It was silent for a few seconds as more heads poked from the sugar and realized that the slug had burned to a crisp.

Lockhart's golden locks soon emerged into view. He looked around and muttered, "class dismissed."

Ron's face was almost as white as Lockhart's. It was probably very traumatizing to be face to face with a horrifying creature, and immobile. At least it wasn't a spider.

The class quickly dug their belongings from the dunes and evacuated the room, before anything else showed up.

Harry skipped along the corridor, his bag sticking to his side.

The prank had gone well actually. Well, there were some underestimates... the outcome of the slug for example...

Although...all's well that ends well.

A/N:

Hm... I guess I had some writer's block.

well... not much to say about this... though, the prank seemed a bit...violent.


	33. Squirrel On My Michellin

The Dogfather

Chapter 33

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns all the rights to Harry Potter.

nXn

Harry returned to the common room that evening eager to inform the twins of the events which passed in the classroom. However, when he entered Gryffindor tower he found the Fred and George brooding in a secluded corner.

The brothers greeted Harry who inquired as to what was amiss.

"Well", began Fred, "It was seven thirty this morning in the great hall and we were all ready to execute the plan."

"When McGonagall walked up to our seats and asked us to come to her office."

"Apparently, she was informed by a source unknown to us that we were planning to prank the hall that morning."

"What? Did she have proof?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Yes", said George grumpily, "This 'source' also told her about the dung bombs under Lockhart's chair and wart potion placed in his eggs."

Harry winced. "So, what's the punishment?"

"Two weeks of detention and fifty points from Gryffindor.", muttered Fred.

"Fifty!", cried Harry.

"Well, it doesn't really matter because the little punk gets fifty points for ratting on us." said George with a shrug.

"Yeah, but now McGonagall knows exactly who to point the finger at when she hears about Lockhart's classroom." muttered Fred, but added in a lighter tone, "By the way, how did that go?"

Harry grinned. "It was fantastic. But I think we over did it a bit. For example, there was only one slug which rivaled the size of a small bear."

The twins' faces filled with glee.

"Also, I don't think you need to worry about McGonagall finding out because I think Lockhart is humiliated by the situation."

Harry proceeded to describe the event to the brothers. Although, throughout the conversation he noticed that Ron was observing them smugly form across the room where he was slaughtering Seamus Finnigan in a game of chess. Harry shrugged it off for the moment but it occurred to him as he ate dinner that Ron would be a perfect suspect as to who squealed to McGonagall. He confined his suspicions to the twins who agreed on this revelation, but questioned how he obtained this information.

As Harry prepared for bed later that evening, he remembered the predicament surrounding his alarm clock. The other boys relied on Neville's clock but Harry was a deep sleeper so he kept his own and placed it on the bedside table next to his head. After the first time he over slept he became a tad suspicious, so every night he taped a hair beneath the switch so it would break if turned off. Now that he thought about it, Harry realized that going through that much trouble to set an alarm clock would make one have no trouble remembering if he or she set it.

Harry inspected the switch and found that the hair was broken. He frowned, realizing that the plan was pretty worthless considering that he could not catch the culprit; also he did not know any spells that would prevent it from happening. Finally, he settled on balancing the clock on his head-board, closing the curtains and falling asleep.

Over the next couple of days Harry, Fred, and George confirmed their suspicions that Ron was the rat.

It became blatant after he asked his brothers if they were serving any detentions lately.

Harry spent a good part of Wednesday evening convincing Lockhart, who cornered him outside the great hall, that he was not interested in attending advanced courses for defense against the dark arts anymore. When he returned to the Common Room, he found his peers to be watching with glee as Ron Weasley ran frantically around the common room, hopping from one foot to the other and screaming like a lunatic.

He asked a spectator what happened and was told that Fred and George had grabbed Ron from behind and dumped a jar of spiders down the back of his shirt. Harry laughed, remembering the spell he had cast on the boy the week before. He decided that this was better because the spiders would not disappear after a short period of time.

Ron finally tore his robe from over his head and sprinted towards his dormitory, shedding garments of clothing as he went.

Harry observed the twins celebrating by the fire, glad that revenge had been fulfilled. However, he was still a bit depressed that Ron was acting this way. He could slightly understand how the boy treated him but turning on his own brothers simply because of their association was ludicrous. Not only that, Fred and George were losing their touch if they let ickle Ronnykins eavesdrop upon their plans.Harry wondered if he would be able to bring himself to patch their relationship back together if this whole fiasco resolved itself in his favor. The more he thought about it, he realized that he was not sure if he would be friendly to anyone who would turn on him in a heart beat, no matter how loyal they were otherwise. Troubled by this, the Gryffindor left for bed, luckily Ron was in the shower when he arrived.

As April 1st came and went Harry was reminded that the Easter holidays were soon approaching. He did miss his family and decided he needed this time together to explain himself; however, he feared that his recent encounters were simply a taste of things to come. Besides that, he spent the day dodging dung bombs and filibuster fireworks.

Harry spent following week trying to rebuild his relationship with Hermione.

On Friday, Quiditch practice was rained out, after much persuasion from the team to an obstinate Oliver Wood. Harry decided to head for the library and start on some homework. It sounded nerdy even to him but he wanted to take advantage of the spare time.

Because it was Friday, the library was practically empty. Thus, Harry was surprised to find Hermione absorbed in a huge book in one of the more distant areas of the library. He wondered to himself how he got here. He had started to search for a book on herbology's role in poison treatment but became side tracked when he reached the magical creatures section. He picked out a book about Sphinxes and settled next Hermione, unknown to his presence.

"Hello." He said calmly, flipping to the table of contents.

Hermione jumped as she realized she was not alone and tried to recover by focusing her attention back to the book.

"Er, I was wondering Hermione if we could talk a bit." He said.

"About what?" she asked beginning to relax a bit.

"Well, you know just as much as I do that our conversation last week isn't going to…um…solve our problem.", he replied, swallowing and wondering how she was going to take this. However, a thunder clap echoed through the library at that moment, making Harry's statement sound morbid.

Harry watched as Hermione's intelligent eyes set to work, pondering what to say.

"Firstly, as you know, I do not completely agree with Ron."

Harry nodded to this and she continued.

"But I'm still confused. The only things I've learned about this are from the Daily Prophet. But that was pretty thin .I need to know every detail before I decide whose side I am on."

Hermione's last sentence made Harry grin, He was happy that Hermione was being more open let alone, that she was prompting him to tell the whole story.

"Well, it all started on my tenth birthday." He began, finding that the words had become familiar now. "For my present my parents were getting me a dog from the local pound. There was a huge black Labrador that was the strangest dog I had ever met…"

And so he did tell her every detail. About how Padfoot acted the first day, their meetings and what he taught him, his letter coming, the Hogwarts train ride, the dementor and his first encounter with Remus, the map, the bogart, being discovered the first time, the relationship that formed between him, Remus, and the twins, and everything else between then and this moment, described to the fullest extent..

"So…do you believe me." He said hopefully, knowing full well that he could not persuade someone in less than half an hour.

The young witch leaned back and stroked her hair, mulling over the information recently stated.

"Yes.", she replied.

Harry blinked. It could not be that easy, but he felt relief and happiness swell inside of him. Then it struck him, her trust was there because she was a true friend.

The next day, Harry received a letter from Remus which stated that he would spend one day of Easter vacation with him when they went to visit Sirius. 'Great' he thought 'Another emotional roller coaster'. Harry did want to see his godfather but was afraid of what being back in Azkaban was doing to him. He did not expect Sirius to go crazy during the meeting like Rita Skeeter claimed, but it would still be awkward, but Padfoot needed it.

Harry exited the Great Hall, with Hermione by his side. He decided if he could handle one obstacle a couple others would not hurt him.

A/N:

Well, there it is, after a ------- long wait. It got a tiny mushy towards the end there but this story needs SOME depth.

Okay Hermione coming around was incredibly thin but there's going to be a lot more about that in the next chappy…which WILL arrive in a week at most. I think I've hit a series of boring chapters here. Lots of talk, no action. And if you care to know, 'Squirrel on my michellin' refers to an interpretation of the lyrics 'swirled emotions'. No rodents have been harmed in the production of this chapter.

Tooddle-loo


	34. Chapter 34

The Dogfather

Chapter 34

Disclaimer: Okay, I must confess, it is not mine. It belongs to the most honorable J.K. Rowling, who also killed Sirius and caused many of his furry friends' deep sadness. Which is why I take it upon myself to manipulate the plot and characters to my heart's content. Enjoy.

nXn

Harry's stomach did a back flip as he heard the whistle of the Hogwarts Express as it rolled into Hogsmeade station.

The group of students was around the same size as those who had left during Christmas, with the exception that the Weasely family was returning this time around. Harry and Hermione boarded the train together and found a compartment towards the end of the train. It was odd to find the train so empty, at least empty compared to the way it was on September 1st.

To his horror, as soon as the two settled into their seats, Hermione pulled a thick folder from her trunk and several textbooks.

"What? We had homework? Well...there are the chapters we have to read in Charms and the potions identification, but besides that nothing...and nothing in herbology or Astronomy.", Harry said with his brow furrowed.

"Don't be silly Harry, I already did that yesterday." replied Hermione. "I'm studying for the exams."

The train lurched forward, as well as Harry rolled his eyes. Hermione would have no problem taking the exams; her average was higher than his. Harry himself was not worried in the least. That was rather cocky of him, but he knew he would pass no matter what.

"Do you realize that exams are hmmm... two months away?"

"Yes, no time like the present.", she stated, thrusting the folder into his lap.

"You kept _all_ of your notes?" he gasped.

"Those are just my History of Magic notes." she said casually to dumbstruck Harry. "Now, when was Merlin born?"

"Er...a long time ago?" Harry guessed, scratching the back of his head.

Now, it was Hermione's turn to roll her eyes. She tossed him the History of Magic textbook. "It's all in the book, and it's about time you got started. I made a study schedule if you want."

"Um...no thanks." said Harry, a bit overwhelmed. He turned to the first chapter. 'Hmm...the ministry of magic, when was that formed again?'

And so, this is how the journey passed for the next two hours, although, Harry switched the textbook with _Quiditch through the Ages_ halfway through.

Finally, Hermione allowed them to rest when the witch with the food cart appeared. Harry purchased a handful of chocolate frogs and licorice wands while Hermione bought a pack of cauldron cakes.

"So, do you have any plans during the break?" asked Hermione.

"Um... not really. My mother will probably want to keep an eye on me during the break...but I'm going with Remus on the last day to visit Sirius."

"Hm...how did your family react to this?"

"Well...my mother wasn't exactly pleased...I have no idea what my sister or Dad think, they were kind of quiet when I saw them...they were probably confused more than anything else. I should have sent a letter or something but it's better if I explain this face-to-face."

Hermione nodded as Harry took a bite out of his licorice wand. He noticed that it was easy for him to talk about this with her.

As the train rolled on, Hermione began to practice spells, naturally this attracted Harry.

"Wingardium Leviosa." said Harry dully, levitating one of his chocolate Frogs and making it circle around Hermione's head.

Hermione frowned and stared at Harry's wand.

"You didn't do the swish and flick!" grumbled Hermione.

"Really", he asked, levitating her book to her. Hermione scowled and snatched the book form mid-air. After flipping to the correct page she showed him the theory of the levitation charm.

"Hm. I guess I can do without it, how about them apples."

"But that doesn't make sense!", she said anxiously.

Although, it made perfect sense to Harry. 'Wingardium Leviosa' was one of the charms he learned before Hogwarts and without a wand. 'The swish and flick' only applied to a wand. Harry was using his mind more than his wand when performing the spell, but Hermione didn't need to know that.

Finally, a few hours later, the train made its stop in Kings Cross station.

Harry dragged his trunk off the train and slowly dragged it across the platform to the barrier. It was time to face the music. The conductor let him and Hermione through the barrier, into the muggle world.

Harry looked around the busy train station expectantly. The only family he could clearly see was the Weasleys. After bidding Hermione good bye, he found a trolley and seated himself on a bench, where he couldn't help but overhear the Weasleys' conversation.

He heard Percy drawl, "Mother, Fred and George still associate themselves with that Potter boy."

"Aw, come off it, Perce! He's perfectly normal." said one of the twins.

Harry swiftly relocated himself to another bench, not wishing to hear more and spotted his mother entering the station..

He weaved the trolley heavily through the crowd and approached her.

Harry trudged through the forest behind his home. Because it was Easter, his home was also full with numerous Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, and such. The only way he could find some privacy to study and complete his homework was to seek refuge in the woods.

Harry took the easy way out when it came to dealing with his mother. He wrote an extensive letter of the relationship between himself and Sirius and the events of the past two years and left it in her sewing box. However, he was highly suspecting that Dumbledore had done something similar.

Harry found a large oak tree settled himself at the base of an Oak tree and pulled out his various books. He blushed to himself as he pulled a sheet of parchment from his bag. Hermione was right; a schedule did come in handy. He decided to start his Potions homework. After half an hour, the sun began to come out. Harry yawned and checked his watch; it was past twelve.

"Study break", he muttered to himself He stretched and propped himself against the trunk. Soon, he was enveloped by slumber.

_A fire illuminated a cracked mantelpiece. Shadows ran across the dusty floorboards. The room was empty except for one battered armchair and a whimpering man. _

"_You are a fool Wormtail... that old muggle knows we are here thanks to your clumsiness.."_

"_But I..."_

"_Crucio!"_

"_Listen carefully... the muggle is coming up to the house right now... I want you to kill him..."_

"_Me? But... I'm too weak.."_

"_It's not safe to confess that to me... you know what happened to Quirrel..."_

"_Yes, Master ... I will kill him.  
_

_The man hid himself in the corner and soon the door creaked and an old man entered._

"_Come out you kids, I know you're in 'ere."_

"_Now Wormtail!"_

"_Avarda-...Av-Avarda Kedarva!"_

_There was a flash of green light and the old muggle fell dead._

Harry woke up with a scream and in a cold sweat with his scar ablaze. He felt something on his shoulder and realized he was not alone.

"Whoa...what's wrong man? What's Wormtail?" It was his cousin Darius who was two years younger than he.

"Nothing...just a nightmare...", he muttered, frantically trying to gather his books as the boy's eyes traveled over the titles.

"Anyways, your mum sent me to fetch you; it's time for dinner."

"Really?" Harry checked his watch it was past five.

_So much for studying... I wasted five hours and I might need to obliviate my little cousin... _

_not to mention that I see Voldemort murder people in my sleep..._

Harry followed Darius, rubbing his forehead and wondering what to do next. That night, Harry continued his homework. He was wide awake thanks to his little nap earlier that

day. He closed his textbook happily as he finished his potions homework. He grabbed his Charms book when he heard a tap at his window. It was a brown barn owl.

The tired bird flew in as the window opened and dropped a parcel. Harry recognized the handwriting to be Hermione's . It said "Happy Easter". Harry smiled to himself and stared at the fowl who was resting in a corner.

"I should tell Remus about the dream", he thought. After considering the idea a bit more, a quill, was grabbed, dabbed, and dropped. The letter was revised a few more times until considered appropriate. He didn't want to raise an alarm but how many times does anyone see the dark lord in their dreams?

"Hey, come here." he whispered beckoning to the owl.

"Are you ready for a quick trip before seeing Hermione again?" The owl seemed to sigh but hooted reluctantly. Harry fastened the letter to its leg. "Take this to Remus Lupin."

A couple days later, Harry was back in the woods, studying for the exams again. He found himself more bored than an otter in the desert. He could not wait until the end of break. A few minutes later, an owl landed on his shoulder. He realized it must be Remus' reply, he'd nearly forgotten all about it.

He quickly unrolled the parchment. It read:

_Harry, _

_I have contacted Dumbledore. We have decided you are not safe. You must return to Hogwarts immediately. A wizard will arrive at your house shortly. I'm sorry this message is curt._

_Remus_

"What?"

A/N: ...don't kill me...

I guess I've kind of lost interest in Fan Fiction... a lot's been going on lately...

No idea when the next chapter will be, either tomorrow or next century.

Enough about me, what do you think?


	35. Chapter 35

As soon as he looked up from the letter he heard his own name swing across the garden.

His mum was there looking annoyed, behind him was a familiar someone.

"Someone is here to see you", she called. He steadily rose, trembling. There was Remus, in full muggle attire. Jeans, jumper, and trainers, and looking more tired than ever.

"What's up, what's up?", Harry heard himself say.

"I'm sorry" said Remus "We have to go, your things are packed." In fact, behind him was his trunk hovering an inch above the ground.

"Er... I guess this is goodbye?" He looked at his mother and felt mournfully guilty. He could not even spend a normal Easter with his parents. He gave a warm hug and Remus pulled a thimble from his pocket.

"What's that?" said Harry and his mother in unison.

"Portkey" muttered Remus and tapped it. Harry watched, mouth slightly ajar but Remus jerked his hand onto the tiny metal object just in time.

A jerk of the navel, the loss of his breakfast, and two seconds later, he found his feet land on something long and soft, followed by a long hiss. He blinked, he was in an alleyway with a cobblestone floor and a very aggravated cat. Remus continued his tense manner with a brisk pace, floating trunk and bewildered Harry in tow.

In short, Harry was pissed. He thought that by now he could get one word out of the man. Honestly, he believed Remus deserved a royal bitch slap. As if the werewolf read his mind he said, "Please don't be angry. This is sudden, yeah, but you'll understand later...maybe.".

Harry bit his lip and followed mutely, arms crossed. He occupied his mind by taking in the scenery. It was Hogsmeade village. The village was quieter than usual; it was Sunday morning but Harry was quite impressed. The shops appeared fascinating, especially Honeydukes and Hogwarts' landscape appeared even more breathtaking from afar. The rolling green hills seem to sparkle with morning dew and the lake appeared to be a diamond in a field of emeralds.

Unexpectedly, Remus was extraordinarily quick; Harry had to jog to keep up. Within ten minutes they were between the winged boars . Remus seemed to relax but Harry chose to refrain from the questions bugging his mind. He decided to count the different suits of armor along the way to wherever they were going. He found himself on thirty seven when they stopped in front of a familiar stone gargoyle.

Remus stated clearly to the statue, "Cotton Candy."

Harry almost said, "Yes please" Before he realized that the statue was revolving.

Remus turned to the boy for the first time and said "Dumbledore's Office, pretty cool huh?"

Harry nodded dumbly. A golden staircase revolved upwards like an escalator and led to a large oak door. Remus knocked and the door swung open. None other than the gray headmaster was waiting behind the desk; his face was blank.

"Sit down Harry, have some tea." Harry slowly obeyed, taking in his surroundings. The walls were lined with portraits of past headmasters and headmistresses. The shelves had different shiny instruments that Harry had a strange temptation to smash. Behind Dumbledore was a jeweled dagger.

He now realized that there was indeed an old pot in front of him, shaped from porcelain into a sphinx. It poured it self into a similar looking cup.

"Now Harry... you told Remus about this... dream." He nodded slowly, sipping the warm liquid. "Now...would you care to repeat it to the best of your ability?" Harry did and Dumbledore's forehead creased.

"This may sound bizarre...well everything these days sound bizarre." remarked Remus. He continued," We think your dream may have actually happened."

Harry remained still as a church and mentally rolled his eyes. 'By the way these people were going on, it sounded as if I was turning into a kangaroo', he thought.

He drained the sphinx and cleared his throat. "So, I'm psychic then, yeah?" he said happily.

"I wish that were the case.", said Dumbledore with an unhappy laugh. "Basically, you can see into someone's mind."

Harry felt like grinning, but a tremble from within held him back. All sci-fi programs and cartoons had glorified the ability to see the invisible...but...why was this so different? Then it hit him.

"And they can see mine." Remus smiled nervously and reclined in the armchair beside Harry.

"Yes, yes, excellent observation, ten points to Gryffindor."he said gravely, "But who, who would Pettigrew be frequenting, who would be torturing servants...who would you dream about in such a manner that you feel the emotions of a stranger?"

Harry bit his lip, frankly his professor was freaking him out. The answer loomed in the back of his mind but he felt it to be preposterous. However he heard himself say it.

"Yep... another ten points for Gryffindor." Remus stood up and crossed the office to the window.

"Shit, Voldemort?" thought Harry. He felt stupid, of course. Who else? Who else would despise him, and stalk him to the point of trespassing the borders of the mind. But...wait a jiffy...wasn't he dead?

"Isn't he dead?" exclaimed the boy, sounded a little more panicked than he expected.

"That's the crazy part isn't it?" said Remus. "We've been expecting Pettigrew to be lurking around with old death eaters the past few months but not even I expected that he could hook up with Voldemort."

The demeanor of the room seemed way too calm to Harry. The most feared wizard in history may be alive and the wizards had barely moved a muscle. Harry would have expected the grounds to be loaded with an army as far as the eye could sea, at least.

"Shouldn't we be doing something!" Harry almost felt like screaming.

"Calm down, calm down.", said Dumbledore. He looked older than ever. "The question is...why isn't he doing anything?" Harry ground his nails into the arms of the chair. "If I may dare to assume...I believe Lord Voldemort is currently in a host life form and he can barely be considered alive. Apparently, he is waiting for something, but he has been waiting for the last ten years. That is not why we are here today. In short...we can use this weakness to for the greater good."

Harry was silent.

Remus tried. "We can find Pettigrew."

Harry jerked up. He was in bed after a long nap but he was woken by a harsh knock. He threw on a shirt and jeans and clumsily stumbled towards the door. The person in the threshold was not the one he would have chose for the moment.

"Wake up Mr. Potter, Occlumency training starts today." sneered the oily Professor.

Harry gulped but there was no time for contemplation. Snape made an about face and was off, Harry hurried behind at a jog; the scene was eerily akin to his trot with Remus.

The long walk was quiet as a rock, well, a rock with footsteps emitting from it. After Ten minutes Harry realized that Snape had been sending peculiar looks towards him...they were almost...curious?

He finally mustered the courage to say, "What? What's wrong?"

Snape glared but said, "What are you wearing."

Harry looked himself over. It was nothing special, jeans trainers, and an Oasis t-shirt his cousin had given him as an Easter present. He suddenly wondered if Snape had a clue about muggle clothes. Instead of investigating, Harry just shrugged and said, "Clothes."

They were in the potion master's dungeon office in almost no time. Snape wasted no time with pleasantries and pulled out his wand.

"Prepare to defend your mind as if it were your life."

Harry blinked but he soon felt as if an airplane had hit him in the stomach.

_He was running as fast as he could. There was a blur of a bus in the rainy distance. He stopped and sat down on the pavement in anger. It was his first chance to start in a football match...and he'd slept late. _

_A black shaggy dog turned into a gaunt faced man._

_He was fighting with Malfoy in the owlry. _

_It was the dead of night and he was propping a bucket above Snapes' doorway while friends squirmed nervously below. _

Suddenly, it stopped. Harry panted. "What the Bloody hell was that?!"

But Snape ignored his remark. "So...that _amusing_ display was your doing?" , he hissed.

"What..."

"Detention Potter and 50 points from Gryffindor..." and it started again.

The practice continued for hours. He hadn't a clue of what it would be like...not a pleasant surprise. In fact, was it even healthy for his age? Was it even _possible_ to beat it?

Harry gritted his teeth with rage as Snape raised his wand. He felt his mind's defenses bend like a rubber under pressure. He hated Snape more than ever, he was certain the lesson was being used for the professor's sick amusement. Harry screamed and bounced back the incoming force. Snape lowered his wand, his eyes flickered.

"I suppose you would catch on eventually... class dismissed."

Harry trotted out , aggravated. How can a first year be expected to compete with a full grown wizard?

_Well, isn't Voldemort a full grown wizard? Dammit... he is..._

He got back to his quarters to find Remus in an armchair; they were sharing an apartment in the teachers' quarters. He opened his mouth to call Snape the foulest thing he could conceive but he decided that Remus had enough to worry about. He decided that "When's Lunch?" was a worthy replacement.

The eve of School arrived soon and Harry was relieved to find that his lessons would stop. Remus even mentioned that they may have drastically overreacted. Harry was happy to return to slightly more normal life; he could now focus on the next quiditch match much to his content.

He went to bed after a long game of scrabble with Remus and fell into a deep slumber.

_He found himself in a familiar house. It seemed to be an old deserted manor. The room appeared to be empty except for faint sobbing in a corner. A fire flickered in the otherwise dark room. Another sound came. It was something gliding across the floor. A snake appeared in on the floor before him. It hissed but somehow he understood. 'There is an old muggle outside the door.' _

_A cold hiss said. "Wormtail...open the door... we have a guest." _

_Shuffling of feet and the creak of a door followed. _

"_Come in Muggle."_

"_Who are you talking about?! I'm the gardener and you kids better skedaddle before I call the police."_

"_Please...Mr. Brice, calm down, why would you want to do that?"_

_There was a flash of green light._

Harry woke up in a cold sweat but his scar was aflame.

Six months, not bad, hm?


End file.
